I will be the first to admit that this movie played very well as a 2 part film. I was severely pissed when I heard that they were cutting it in half. But all that is now washed away.
Even though it was a 90 minute flick, it felt like it was well over 2 hours. There was so much plot and story being told, I sincerely think that some of the feeling would have been lost if they had of ran it 3 hours.
It gives you time to digest what you just experienced. The brutality of the fights, and the buildup of the characters we have seen.
The artistic styling of this movie is in a word, Awesome. I have great appreciation for directors who use long continuos shots in movies. Not this constant cutting of a scene, back and for, but long 3 - 4 minute uninterrupted, uncut continuos takes. The lack of CG and almost non existent wire fighting was also a nice change in our Matrix flavoured movies these day. Don't get me wrong I love the Matrix and all it's CG, slo-mo, wire fu goodness, but Hollywood is using this to death already. And seeing a film that goes back to the roots of the Kung-fu/samurai genre is a rare treat in the theater these days.
I must admit as everyone has, that the classic QT dialog was sparse, but it played well. Instead of the typical long character interludes we usually see in a QT movie, we are treated to a more visual dialog of sorts(I am coining that phrase right here and now) The over the top conversations that we heard in Pulp, Res Dogs and so on. Are masterfully displayed for all to see.
The scene in the hospital with the redneck orderly. I can just hear the boys from Res dogs sitting around a table going "I once knew this sick fuck who would let guys come into the coma ward and do the patients"
or something to that effect. So instead of hearing it spoken, we have the chance to see it in all its disturbing detail.
As with most QT films, the music is interesting and odd. But fitting of almost all the scenes. The unique take on flight of the bumble bee while the Yakuza are driving was quite cool.
The action was definitely over the top in terms of gore. I am trying to remember any movie that even comes close to comparing in terms of blood and guts, and I can't come up with anything. I am not down on the violence, as it has been one of the selling features of the QT movies to me. I love the ultra violent genre of flicks (Even though I am a total pacifist in reality, go figure) The action scenes are tight and well paced, never feeling too long, or to short.
The anime story sequence for Lucy Lui's character was just downright cool. It allowed for a part of the story to be told very brutally, and disturbingly, and still get an "R" rating.
Same with the black and white scenes. When I heard we were getting a sudo-censored version, I was pretty pissed off as well. But after seeing them, it translated well. I think the excessive use of blood would have almost detracted from the scene. And the sweet transition back to color was also nicely done too.
The story itself leaves you oddly fulfilled at the end of the movie. Sure you want to know what fate our Heroine will face in the next half, but I left feeling quite content in the fact that I knew enough about the players to get me back in the seat for Vol 2, but still felt like I saw a complete movie.
All in all, I think this movie is now my new favorite from QT, which is saying a hell of a lot as I am a die hard fan of True Romance.
5 stars out of 5
Can't wait till Feb.
(BTW - This is a carbon copy of the review I gave elsewhere, just been lurking here a little more lately)
Even though it was a 90 minute flick, it felt like it was well over 2 hours. There was so much plot and story being told, I sincerely think that some of the feeling would have been lost if they had of ran it 3 hours.
It gives you time to digest what you just experienced. The brutality of the fights, and the buildup of the characters we have seen.
The artistic styling of this movie is in a word, Awesome. I have great appreciation for directors who use long continuos shots in movies. Not this constant cutting of a scene, back and for, but long 3 - 4 minute uninterrupted, uncut continuos takes. The lack of CG and almost non existent wire fighting was also a nice change in our Matrix flavoured movies these day. Don't get me wrong I love the Matrix and all it's CG, slo-mo, wire fu goodness, but Hollywood is using this to death already. And seeing a film that goes back to the roots of the Kung-fu/samurai genre is a rare treat in the theater these days.
I must admit as everyone has, that the classic QT dialog was sparse, but it played well. Instead of the typical long character interludes we usually see in a QT movie, we are treated to a more visual dialog of sorts(I am coining that phrase right here and now) The over the top conversations that we heard in Pulp, Res Dogs and so on. Are masterfully displayed for all to see.
The scene in the hospital with the redneck orderly. I can just hear the boys from Res dogs sitting around a table going "I once knew this sick fuck who would let guys come into the coma ward and do the patients"
or something to that effect. So instead of hearing it spoken, we have the chance to see it in all its disturbing detail.
As with most QT films, the music is interesting and odd. But fitting of almost all the scenes. The unique take on flight of the bumble bee while the Yakuza are driving was quite cool.
The action was definitely over the top in terms of gore. I am trying to remember any movie that even comes close to comparing in terms of blood and guts, and I can't come up with anything. I am not down on the violence, as it has been one of the selling features of the QT movies to me. I love the ultra violent genre of flicks (Even though I am a total pacifist in reality, go figure) The action scenes are tight and well paced, never feeling too long, or to short.
The anime story sequence for Lucy Lui's character was just downright cool. It allowed for a part of the story to be told very brutally, and disturbingly, and still get an "R" rating.
Same with the black and white scenes. When I heard we were getting a sudo-censored version, I was pretty pissed off as well. But after seeing them, it translated well. I think the excessive use of blood would have almost detracted from the scene. And the sweet transition back to color was also nicely done too.
The story itself leaves you oddly fulfilled at the end of the movie. Sure you want to know what fate our Heroine will face in the next half, but I left feeling quite content in the fact that I knew enough about the players to get me back in the seat for Vol 2, but still felt like I saw a complete movie.
All in all, I think this movie is now my new favorite from QT, which is saying a hell of a lot as I am a die hard fan of True Romance.
5 stars out of 5
Can't wait till Feb.
(BTW - This is a carbon copy of the review I gave elsewhere, just been lurking here a little more lately)
This is one of the strangest movies I've seen in a while, yet it was oddly compelling and made you want to keep watching it. It's an homage to B-movies, Japanese sword-fighting films and . . . well, I'm not sure quite what else. It's gruesome, filled with gore and as Joel points out there are a couple of "Tarantino moments" - think "ewwwww". There was a bit of wire-work in the climactic fight scene, but not enough to be truly distracting. The fight scenes (basically about half the movie) are well choreographed and there isn't any evidence of "fake fighting" going on. There are some moments where the blood sprays as if from a high pressure fire hose rather than meager human arteries - but by the time these roll around, you are to the point of laughing about it, rather than being shocked.
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