A former assassin, known simply as The Bride (Uma Thurman), wakes from a coma four years after her jealous ex-lover Bill (David Carradine) attempts to murder her on her wedding day. Fueled by an insatiable desire for revenge, she vows to get even with every person who contributed to the loss of her unborn child, her entire wedding party, and four years of her life. After devising a hit list, The Bride sets off on her quest, enduring unspeakable injury and unscrupulous enemies.
Once upon a time, I watched a documentary on the making of Nicolas Winding Refn’s underrated masterpiece “Only God Forgives,” and there was one moment that lingers in my mind almost a decade later: a moment that sees Refn and star Ryan Gosling pulling up to an event for the film and seeing Gosling swarmed by crazed fans while the auteur director is ignored almost entirely. So many love cinema, but the layman so regularly chooses the movie they watch based on who is in front of the camera, not behind it. While even a casual moviegoer can probably recite names such as Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, etc., but seldom do directors become household names. Steven Spielberg. Martin Scorsese. Maybe George Lucas. These names come to mind when thinking of directors known by even the most casual fans of the medium.
I believe it’s safe to say that Quentin Tarantino has not only joined that list but sits right at the top of it.
Arguably cinema’s greatest cinephile. Tarantino exploded onto the scene in the ‘90s with his Sundance hit “Reservoir Dogs,” introducing a man who would be known for his witty dialogue, eccentric characters, and unflinching violence. Hot on the heels of that success, Tarantino followed up his debut with “Pulp Fiction,” one of the finest films of that decade that received seven Academy Award nominations and saw Tarantino winning his first Oscar for original screenplay, shared with Roger Avary. “Pulp Fiction” was cemented as an instant classic, and Tarantino was now one of Miramax’s most prized assets. While Tarantino was already well on his way to being a household name, his two-part “Kill Bill” saga solidified that for him. Initially released in 2003, “Kill Bill Vol. 1” was the first of two movies following the otherwise unnamed assassin The Bride (Uma Thurman) on a bloody vengeance quest against her former assassins who betrayed her and left her for dead.
Volume One, as described by Tarantino, is the piece given to us to help build the world of this bloody saga. After seeing the tail end of the massacre intended to take out Bride’s life, we’re quickly transferred four years later into a small, everyday suburban town where The Bride tracks down Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), a.k.a. Copperhead, one of the four assassins responsible for her attempted murder. Immediately, we’re thrust into a perfect blend of so many exploitation film genres as we witness a beautifully staged fight that, spoiler alert, ends with the demise of Vernita Green after a bit of exposition delivered through Tarantino’s trademark dialogue. What’s more important than this first execution, though, is its delivery. Set in typical suburbia with a mother’s corpse lying dead before a daughter who may want her own revenge one day, amid broken glass, blood, and cereal, we’re assured of one thing.
Nothing in this world will ever be what it initially seems on the surface.
Volume One moves us around through time after this, as we bear witness to The Bride’s awakening from a coma that sends her immediately back into this grimy world of violence and disgust, witnessing her transformation to her former self as she prepares to take down Vernita Green, who we’ve already seen, and the vicious O-Renn Ishii (Lucy Liu), introduced to us in a stunning manga-inspired animation and played to perfection by a quietly menacing Lucy Liu that ends in a long and violent showdown that sits among the most impressive sequences Tarantino has given us.
If Volume One is the building of the world, Volume Two is the unveiling and the film that turned me into a full-blown Tarantino fan (I was a late bloomer and hadn’t yet seen his previous works). Volume One sets the stage so that we can fully explore this world in Volume Two, having more intimate time spent with Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) and Budd (Michael Madsen), our two remaining assassins and, of course, the titular Bill, played by an astonishing David Carradine at his very best.
While Volume Two is the longer and (arguably) bigger of the two, it’s also the more grounded, offering us fewer set pieces than its predecessor but making the most of them as the film jumps around and we spend more time around our characters without The Bride, getting to know their little quirks and what makes them tick. The final sequence with The Bride and Bill is exceptional and, like our final showdown in Volume One, sits among Tarantino’s greatest sequences. Thurman and Carradine are marvelous across from one another, expertly embodying the complexity of these characters that sets Kill Bill apart from other revenge films.
Because that’s what makes this work. Complexity.
Tarantino’s script has heart. His characters are multi-layered. Each one is eager to be the one who finally puts The Bride into her grave, but it’s also clear to see the amount of respect they all possess for her as their former companion, and that respect is mutual. It makes for a fascinating character study in a world where we can see all points of view and are sad to see these characters go, even if they deserve it. The final showdown between Lucy Liu and Uma Thurman at the end of Volume One encapsulates this perhaps the most perfectly as we see not two enemies but two incredible warriors with mutual respect for one another forced to be in opposition. It’s beautiful and haunting, and the emotional core drives these films and makes them stand out.
Two decades later, the Kill Bill saga remains the perfect summation of Tarantino’s oeuvre. With its witty dialogue, quirky and complex characters, and emotional drama expertly blended with humor, it’s everything we’ve grown to expect from Tarantino at the highest level. While there may be films in Tarantino’s catalog that I prefer to Volume One and Volume Two individually, Kill Bill as a whole is probably the perfect reflection of Tarantino you can get. It’s an epic, violent, bloody, emotional journey.
And it’s beautiful.
Both titles are now available on 4K Ultra HD™
