I will occasionally see a movie twice, just to catch the reaction of the people I’m with, who are seeing it for the first time. With KILL BILL VOLUME ONE, Quentin Tarantino seems to be doing the same thing. Instead of showing us the blaxploitation, and Asian kung-fu/samurai movies that shaped him, he has made a loving homage to them. Because he’s one of the most talented directors ever to make films, this movie is much better than its influences.

Quentin would probably disagree with that, but his love of grindhouse or exploitation films is shared only by a small but dedicated cult. I respect this cult, but I’m not part of it. I regard both my favorite blaxploitation and kung fu films, FOXY BROWN and ENTER THE DRAGON respectively, as entertaining, but silly guilty pleasures. (For the record, I don’t consider CROUCHING TIGER or Jackie Chan films in this genre.)

Back to KILL BILL. This movie just rocks! The visuals are unforgettable and, though not as prominent as in the past, the dialogue remains clever and smart. For the first time, Quentin shows what he can do with extended action scenes. As a love letter to the seventies, there’s no CG allowed, just amazing fight choreography and stunt work.

Uma’a performance allows Quentin to be as wild and crazy as he needs to, by providing a strong and sympathetic center to the film. The other notable performance was by martial arts cult hero Sonny Chiba as the wise old sword maker. It’s the one sequence where the audience is allowed to catch their breaths and its very charming. His relationship with The Bride reminded me of Yoda and Luke in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, but I may be alone in that observation.

The music is completely out of left field and cool as hell. It’s mostly instrumental stuff that reflects the same influences as the film. Can’t wait to see that Japanese girl band on tour!