Kill Bill Volume 1 is a gripping tale of betrayal and vengeance whose only real fault is that it isn't as detailed or captivating as Volume 2. Kill Bill tells the story of The Bride who was betrayed and left for dead in a church in El Paso by her once lover Bill and how when she awoke from a 4 year coma all she wanted was revenge. However that is not the only thing going for it as it is also a satire and a tribute to Kung Fu films in general. Of course Tarantino brings his own directorial flare to the film as well as his signature dialogue but the first volume plays more like a tribute than a film of its own where as the 2nd shines on its own merits and story. If anything it is the concentration on lesser characters like O-Ren Ishii that brings the film down because she is the weakest of the main group of characters (although Lucy Lui's acting is fantastic as always). This concentration seems like a mistake but in a way it does help set up the 2nd by showing how hard it was to take on only 2 of the 5 targets The Bride goes after. However the Hatori Hanzo section of the film does work especially well as it embraces Kung Fu and Samurai film conventions while also allowing for certain comedic elements and also fleshing out The Bride's excellent character before getting into the more action heavy second half of the film. Overall it is one of Tarantino's best works but is just overshadowed by Volume 2 which just does everything that Volume 1 does but does it better.… Expand

Too unrealistic gory scenes. Like a cartoon.

The script read like Tarantino was having a conversation with himself. The violence was stylish, but no matter how you wrap it, crap is crap.

This was the first Quentin Tarantino movie I have ever seen and I could not stop watching. My eyes were glued to the screen. I was in awe and even the several times after that when I would watch this film everyday while waiting for Volume 2 to be released on DVD. It all just fits together so well with the promise of an excellent second half. This is a must see!

"Kill Bill: Vol 1" is a bloody mess filled with bizarre **** and unique garbage. Director Tarantino's presentation may have been cool or stunning, but it can't save the movie from its terrible plot with shallow depth. He should have made this into a **** anime, not a movie.

What do u get when u fuse anime-esque characters with interesting yet ultimately mediocre fight scenes that have been done to death in decades of Chinese Wu-Shia films and mix it all with 70's martial arts music and artstyle all packaged in a sloppy plot that acts as merely an excuse for the over-the-top-to-the-point-of-comedic violence? You get Kill Bill Vol 1, the first part of essentially an elaborate revenge, murderous rampage plan of the so-called ex-killer, 'The Bride' Kiddo. In many respects, the violence in some aspects overshoots its intended artistic form and becomes rather disturbing, even for a fully-grown 22 yo male like myself who indulges often in gory video games. Uma Thurman is brilliant and some visual cinematography is brilliant. The homage to Chinese Wu-Shia and Japanese Samurai films will provide nostalgia for many (like myself, who is 1/4 Japanese and 3/4 Chinese) while if you're not really into those types of films, you may be disappointed. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is very much just a violent showcase of bloodlust and dismembering fetish, where you will laugh, grimace, cringe and get high all at the same time. Its an experience, an unique one that's not for the faint-hearted. If you're expecting a crime/mafia revenge tale, this is not the film you're after. If you want to watch a single, Caucasian blondie cut her way through dozens of human beings all in great, bloodthirsty detail with the occasional backstory, this is that film. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is not a movie. Its a visual, bloodfest with chaotic martial arts sequences that at times, just dont feel fluid or flow as well as the the major martial arts blockbusters from China or Japan. Save this for those drunken nights where you have ran out of anime to watch (unlikely), manga to read (even more unlikely) or decent games to play (impossible).… Expand

Kill Bill is absolutely one of the best, if not the best movie out so far this year. The people giving it 0's obviously can't get over the violence factor to appreciate its unique style and all the great detail brought in from the movie genres that this movie is based on. Although gory, it's the kind of over-the-top gore and violence that begins to become desensitizing on purpose. If Tarantino had wanted, he could have made the gore 100 times more realistic. Instead he is poking fun and paying homage to those kung fu movies, and revenge flicks where all these elements (simple plot, fake gore, no character development) are done just by accident as a result of bad filmmaking. Here it is all done on purpose...some people understand that and can smile, and some people can't. On another note, I really appreciated Uma's performance in this, being someone who has never thought she was that pretty nor talented, but she really shines in this movie.… Expand

To make a movie that does not have any type of plot and still succeeds the way this does shows that QT knows how to tell a story. Of course this movie is violent and if that is the only reason people dont like it, then they are too dumb for this anyways. This is QT's way of showing us the styles of movies that influenced him and most americans dont "get it". This movie is pure fun and the young japanese girl steals every scene she is in. This movie is full of violence from beginning to end but it tells it in a way that is articulate and inventive. None of this just shoot the other guys like bad boys or some stupid crap like that. This is storytelling at its best and the anime in the middle proves that most people look at movies and most other things i might add with a narrow point of view and cannot expand their mindset. This was brought to you by a liberal college student with a 3.8 gpa. For the dumbasses who "dont get" this movie, ill take my groceries in plastic please.… Expand

The movie rides on pure cinematic flare. It's as if Tarantino is trying to prove that he can make a good movie out of a terrible script. Although I have to be honest. I had a lot of fun watching this film. Most action movies bore me to no end, but not Kill Bill. I sat mesmerized throughout. Overall this movie is just a mindless good time, that you don't have to be mindless to enjoy.

Does not have the comprehensive outlook of Pulp Fiction, but the victims are more plentiful and bleed much more profusely. Tarantino fans will quickly realize that he continues to be lucky to have Uma Thurman facilitating his quirky intensity. The plot is basically Thurman's character out to slay five selected persons who wronged her, but she is perfectly willing to dispatch a few hundred of their associates on the fly. As such she does not lend herself well to complex character exposition. But if you buy into the state of affairs inferred upon comatose hospital patients in Texas, you don't care. It's a pathetic story riding a riveting presentation, and as a bonus it solves the age old dilemma of how your average American housewife should break off a knife fight when her daughter comes home from school. Bring on Part II. … Expand

It's so sad we didn't get to reading the lowest scoring critic review. What would they have to say for themselves? If one cannot see through the "gory" (blood squirting in fountains, cartoony if you ask me) spots and see how incredibly stylish this movie is... Every single moment, every single chopped off arm is full of tension, action, and even humor! Incredible how he combines those key elements harmoniously, fused with great acting and strangely enough believable characters... It's the Bohemian Rhapsody of movies; something of everything, but never coming short. Why do some people see a 10 for a given opinion as if that person is a fanboy? This is one of the movies that's worth it.… Expand

Sucked big time.

I just gave this film the same score that I gave Kindergarten Cop, if that tells you anything.

I like volume 2 more then volume 1 but it is my favourite film!

Maybe I had too high of expectations, but the first half of this film let me down a bit. Still a great story with an amazing cliffhanger (although the movie should just be one long three hour experience). Not as good as the gold of Resevoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and True Romance, but the Quentinescence is there.

Violence doesn't bother me (thank you, Hollywood), so I'm not complaining about that. The story was run of the mill, but I'm well used to that. What was truly awful was having to sit in a cinema in Tokyo and listen to everyone laughing at the Westerners blurting out words that no one over here uses anymore, going on about their souls and the FIGHTING WITH SWORDS!!! The Japanese joke that it only happens in American movies, and this proves them right. And there isn't a word to describe the cringe-factor of listening to Uma mispronouncing 'Okinawa' time and time again.… Expand

Regarding KB and have to say i may never go to see another film produced in the US again in protest. In their desperation to produce serials and trilogies instead of GOOD FILMS, it seems like really-very-thin plot lines are being stretched over too much celluloid (or, if you're George Lucas, digital memory - he films all in digital, you know). Don't get me wrong, KB is entertaining stuff and well worth a look (with a great twist at the end), but Tarantitillationio seems to have replaced witty and snappy dialogue (a la Pulp Fiction, all hail to him for that) with... er... no dialogue at all. Just long silences in which people pose with a variety of weapons and give each other "meaningful" glances before exploding into ludicrous violence. No plot, because it seems we have to wait for part 2 for that, unlike the Matrix sequels where it was all plot in 2 and violence in 3. Beautifully filmed, directed and choreographed, but absolutely no substance at all, just like Matrix II and III and the League of Extraordinary Cr*p. Go and see Goodbye Lenin. At least the Germans haven't forgotten how to make a film. DISCLAIMER: The excellent Finding Nemo is of course excempt from the above vented spleen.… Collapse

Simply awful with too much blood and gore. People were walking out of the theater in the middle of the film. That says it all.

Wow. I mean, really wow. I was so excited to see this movie, and I have no comment for it. I'm a huge fan of pulp fiction, but this...I can't even describe how awful it is.

Pitiful. Incredible how Tarantino steals our money !!

Bang bang he shot me down bang bang that awful sound the best campy movie ever! its a classic tarantino!

Stylish and exciting with a great soundtrack! I smell a rat, some reviews which gave this film 0 look remarkable similar! This gives me reason to suspect that they were penned from the same indivdual! For those complaining against the violence, just what were you expecting! The clue is in the title! Any film with "kill" in is not going to be Mary Poppins! As for those comments saying most of the audience left halfway through the film with only 25% capacity, I guess it depends where you live, my cinema was packed to capacity and not one person left early!… Expand

Tarantino has done it again!I didn't wait for this movie for nothing. Good mix of great dialogue, unrealism and realism. Go and see it!

I hated this movie so much... i think tarantino has been sitting around playing too much playstation and taking too much ..... I reckon everything good in the film he stole from the playstation classic Tenchu and everything bad in the film, which was te majority of it... was taken from his ass and the belief in his own hype... get it over it quinti... i know i have.

One hell of a movie to come back with, excellent, kept me on the edge of my seat while laughing my arse off, can't wait untill volume 2 comes out in Feb.

I just saw this for the first time on DVD. While I appreciate the extreme stylishness of this movie (parts of it are extraordinary, both funny and startling) by the end of it I found myself simply bored by tedious dialogue, cartoonish violence and self-indulgent, padded (even swollen) scenes that should have been cut down or out. I understand that it's an homage to movies that QT loves -- that's clear. But this movie certainly didn't make me love it or them, and it left me instead with a sense of its essential emptiness. I wouldn't call it a waste of time, because even QT's failures are interesting, but it was a bit of a yawn. Ah well, to each his or her own, I suppose. … Expand

i have the movie on DVD, and every time I watch it I wanna be in the movie (wtf?!)......it is good!!!!!! although this movie is very bloody its also bloody good!

Despised it. I walked out in the middle it was that bad. Quentin stay in retirement if your heart isn't in it? It's a pity because Quentin when he is on his A game is one of the best there is. He made no effort here. Awful.