With everyone so focused on the blood and gore of this movie, I urge you to think beyond the blood; think of a favorite Japanese graphic novel brought to life. Think of the ultimate revenge fantasy, where you are so very bad @ss that no one can touch you. Think invincible, brutally gifted with weapons, and fueled by hate beyond death.
Kill Bill is a visually stunning treat for the eyes, and ears, of its viewers; even the blood is overdone in its gushing fountains and sprinkler type sprays. The background story of O'Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) is entirely done in Anime; expertly done I might add. Tarentino uses cinematography to its best advantage in this film; stop action shots, slow motion, down angle shots, B&W during the big fight, and the battle in the snow between O'Ren Ishii and The Bride is the tastiest eye candy fight scene I have seen in a very long time.
Even down to costume design, Kill Bill stimulates the visual core of your brain even better than the original Matrix. Direction, choreography, soundtrack, editing, production, acting, everything combines to make one of the greatest revenge fantasies ever filmed. Really, I'm not even a huge Tarentino fan, and I still found myself riveted to the screen, even starting the movie over again after my first viewing.
The actresses and actors deserve special mention of their own. Forget Uma Thurman as the pretty little innocent we saw her as in Dangerous Liaisons, she is one hard fighting woman as The Bride, and really mastered the art of sword fighting for her role in this movie. She does a superb job. Lucy Liu is both beautiful and dangerous in her role as O'Ren Ishii, her voice as soft as rose petals and her sting as deadly as the Cottonmouth's bite, thus her code name from the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Her eyes will quite literally transfix you, you will feel her staring into your soul and know that she would love to see the color of your blood.
Also Exceptional in their supporting roles are Vivica Fox and Darryl Hannah, two more beautiful ladies that we never considered dangerous until now. Unknown in America for any acting is young Chiaki Kuriyama, who plays O'Ren's 17 year old bodyguard GoGo Yubari, a baby faced schoolgirl with dead eyes and a psychotic mind. And Sonny Chiba, long time veteran of Japanese cinema plays Hattori Hanzo, a retired sword maker.
Don't miss the amazing snow-scene fight, the expertly done anime, and the visual and audio treat that is Kill Bill. Favorite Line? The Bride, after kicking everyone's hinder at the House Of Blue Leaves, shouts down to them from the balcony, "Those of you lucky enough to have your lives take them with you. However, leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now."
Enjoy!
