KILL BILL

VOLUME 1 2003 ***** 111 mins.
VOLUME 2 2004 ***** 137 mins.

I cannot help but think of Kill Bill as one film. As everyone knows, originally, this project was conceived as one film. It wasn't until the last second before release that it was decided to split this up into two films. Of course, even the fact that it was split into two films gives it an added element of greatness that no other film can compare to. Each "Volume" has its own feel. Volume 1 is, predominantly, a Japanese/Samarai type of film. Volume 2 is more of a dramatic/spaghetti western type of film. However, they are undeniably and incontrovertably linked into one masterpiece of modern cinema known as Kill Bill.

Uma Thurman plays "The Bride", who is out for revenge against the people who murdered her fiance, friends, and her unborn baby girl. She goes on a quest to kill them all, ultimately leading her to the main man on her list: Bill (played by David Carradine). The action sequences are absolutlely spellbinding, and the dramatic sequences are so emotionally stimulating that one cannot help but be in complete awe of this epic. I can't help but be in complete shock at the end of Volume 1, and I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face at the end of Volume 2. Each Volume creates such emotional responses that reoccur, no matter how many times you watch it.

In my opinion, all Uma Thurman would need to have a good resume is this film. Her performance is beyond everything else I have seen her done. This is a star-making film, there is no doubt about it. Of course, no one could play The Bride but Uma. This is THE signature role that Uma Thurman needed to solidify her in the top ranks of Hollywood's greatest actresses. Also, this film reinforces the fact that Quentin Tarantino is one of the greatest directors in cinematic history. Kill Bill is a cinematic wonderment that is destined to become a classic. It is going to age like wine.
Number 20 on KRSJR Productions' 25 Greatest Motion Pictures of All Time.
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, some sexual content, and brief drug use.