Killed Bill Properly This Time

So I just saw a TV spot for Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof on C4. I guess, given the spirit of its Grindhouse origins, that showcasing a series of hot women shaking their asses and riding in (and on) fast cars doesn't seem entirely out of place. But given the failure of the double-bill Grindhouse concept to sell in its American release, the very thing which lead to Death Proof's separate run elsewhere, you'd think something more coherent in terms of, say, actually articulating what the hell the film's about would have been the first thing on the agenda for senõrs Weinstein and Weinstein (the second one's the fat one). This ad doesn't just fail to sell what the movie is about. I knew what the movie was about, and after viewing the ad I can't remember. Although it apparently stars Kurt Russell, who can kill you in his sleep and still has bits of Chuck Norris stuck between his teeth, so I'm there.

I'd actually be genuinely skeptical about the film if it wasn't for the fact that I saw the two Kill Bills back to back for the first time yesterday. Watching them on their own is one thing, a thing which I'd done multiple times in fact, but seeing them as originally intended (and structured) as a single film has, in my eyes, greatly appreciated their worth. In the past I've viewed them as Tarantino childishly having as much fun as he can buy with his special effects budget, but to be honest I think this is actually his most, perhaps only, truly mature effort as a filmmaker. It might not have the inspired writing of Pulp Fiction, but other than that I think he reached a new peak with Kill Bill in terms of all-round creativity. We're basically talking about four hours flooded with mindblowing ideas - just all sorts of little things that add so much character to the film. Nobody, absolutely nobody, can do some of the stuff he does. Seeing it all in one go and getting the big picture as a single experience, I think that if anything its because the narrative is so simple that the gargantuan (rare indeed, Elle) success of the film is so remarkable. Sure it relies on a killer last half-hour to seal the deal (grounding the film firmly in its emotional core rather than opting for the big slice-em-up finale perhaps anticipated an hour or so in), but the way in which he just kicks all the rules to the curb and constructs this completely free form movie filled with fully-integrated genre shifts, pop culture references, outdated-technique-revivals (if that's a thing) and even fully animated sequences all within a wildly fractured chronology and actually makes it all work is just astonishing. I still maintain that you can't have as much pure fun watching anything else.

If you haven't seen them before, or even if you have, watch them back to back. Now. Especially if you have an exam tomorrow. Tarantino is the man, and having seen Kill Bill again I think I'd trust anything he puts his name to. Unless, you know, he's just 'presenting' it.