KILL BILL: Volume One Release Date:  October 10th, 2003 (wide). MPAA Rating:   R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content. Distributor:   Miramax I meant to do a much longer review of Quentin Tarantino’s new film, "Kill Bill: Volume One" but Miramax wouldn’t let me into their advance screening (bad Miramax!! Bad Miramax!!), so I had to go see it over the weekend in wide release. Which is probably more fun -- there is nothing like going to a movie on opening night -- particularly when the theatre is packed and everyone is screaming and throwing popcorn around. Still, it does add a bit of time to one’s review writing, so apologies to you dear readers and to Frank for the delay in getting this out! Anyway, I wouldn’t be the film geek that I am if I didn’t confess that I have been chomping at the bit to see this movie since I first heard of it, and in fact I spent an entire weekend playing the downloaded preview over and over on my laptop and drooling with anticipation. This is, alas, true. But Tarantino films don’t come along too often, and the making of this one with all of the delays, budget runovers and astounding decision to break the film in two is now a Hollywood legend. For those of you who have been living in a cave and haven’t seen any other articles on this film, "Kill Bill" is the story of The Bride (Uma Thurman), a former assassin whose attempt to go straight, have a baby and settle down was brought to a screeching halt on her wedding day when a gang of killers – led by her former lover, the unseen in this film, Bill – crashes her wedding and murders everyone in the place, including the Bride’s unborn child. Only the Bride survives, but she remains in a coma for four years. At this point in the film it is appropriate to remind the viewer of the concept of "voluntary suspension of disbelief" which we all had drilled into us in high school: the Bride emerges from the coma, somehow finds her passport and credit cards, draws up a "To Kill" List in a spiral notebook and flies to Japan to have a sword made so she can embark on her mission of revenge. I am sure this sort of thing happens ALL THE TIME. "Kill Bill" in many ways is not a typical Tarantino film – there is almost none of the wonderful snappy dialogue that marked his earlier efforts like "Pulp Fiction" or "Reservoir Dogs" – instead a lot of this dialogue seems as if it is translated from Japanese (Uma to Vivica J. Fox: " I have no desire to kill you in front of the eyes of your daughter.") and that is a loss. The entire plot, flimsy as it is, is just there to set up the battle scenes – but what battle scenes!! From a knife fight in a suburban kitchen, a confrontation with 88 masked warriors in a Tokyo restaurant, a battle with a deranged Japanese schoolgirl assassin, and a climatic and beautifully choreographed swordfight in a magical snow-covered Japanese garden, these battle scenes are the real stars of the movie. Lucy Liu, Uma Thurman, Darryl Hannah, and all the others don’t seem to matter as much as the brutal and gorgeous choreography of this film – and that is okay. "Kill Bill" showcases a director who is so comfortable and yet obsessed with the details of filmmaking that you can’t help but forgive any of the flaws in the film. It is really a joy to watch. A word of warning – if you don’t like violent movies, this is not the movie for you: many people die in many bad ways, limbs fly, blood spurts with comic glee, and it isn’t always funny. Still, a world where you can fly in planes in first class carrying your samurai sword seems like a good one to me, and I will again be first in line for "Kill Bill: Volume Two" when it opens in February 2004. Unless Miramax will let me into a screening then …… ~ April Roberts (aroberts310@nyc.rr.com) Check out their site @ www.kill-bill.com Photo Credits: Andrew Cooper