The Good

A well structured action packed film that acquits itself very well on this player.

The Bad

I could have done without the 5, 6, 7, 8's music videos.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 was Tarantino's return to filmmaking after an eight year hiatus and he did it fine fashion. With this movie he showed us why he is Quentin Tarantino. Setting a two-part film around revenge is a risky proposition simply because it lends itself to tunnel vision that could bore viewers. What Tarantino does here that is so special is he makes us care about all the characters. Not just the good ones or the bad ones but all of them, and in doing so he makes us realize that nobdy can really be judged in such simple terms.

I was really happy to see that they made this title for the PSP. It is filled with solid story telling, great dialogue and action sequences that go far beyond ambition.

Features

Making of Kill Bill and Music Videos

The Making Of that comes with this UMD is really more like an electronic press kit than anything else. It takes us from when Quentin first got the idea for this film, how he shared it with Uma Thurman and then things just progressed from there. While I know that there is more to this film's history than that, essentially that sums up how this piece plays. The Music Videos on this disc feature the band the 5, 6, 7, 8's performing such songs as "I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield" and "I'm Blue". I really don't have much to say about these videos other than that they are boring with a capital B. It's just the band playing and that to me speaks of lazy directing.

Video

There are bars on the top and bottom of this film. While this movie isn't as crisp or as sharp as some of the others that I have viewed in the UMD format, overall I feel that this highly, action oriented movie plays really really well on the PSP. In fact, the anime sequence almost looks like it is in 3D. Given the breadth and scope of almost every action sequence in this film, the fact that everything plays really says a lot of about the quality of it's compression.

Audio

Stereo. Even though it is played so much now it is almost played out, it's hard not to get chills when you see The Bride (Uma Thurman) in action with the Kill Bill score behind her. One thing I do like about this movie is that the soundtrack isn't busy at all. It just plays as one would imagine it playing, and it's only in certain scenes that Tarantino really shakes it up for a certain effect. Yeah, one can certainly see his musical tastes splattered all over this thing, but I think that is more because of his style than the need to be flashy.

Package

Uma Thurman, dressed on her iconic yellow jumpsuit and holding a sword, seems to almost blend into the background behind her. The back of this UMD cover tells us the story of this movie, what the "Extra Features" are and also lays out the technical specs. This artwork is nothing if not eyecatching and it should certainly gain the attention of at least a few consumers.

Final Word

I remember before this movie came out, I wasn't too excited about the subject matter. In fact quite the contrary, I wondered why Tarantino wasn't stepping back into the easy world of gangsters in Los Angeles that he is known for? It was only after watching this movie that it really hit me, why in the world would Tarantino ever go back there? I am not saying that he won't and I am not saying it is bad world, I am just saying that I don't see a director of his stature ever repeating himself. Stylistically, there might be things about his films that we notice as being similar, but that's only because his style is so strong anyway.

If you own no movies for your PSP than you need to own Kill Bill Vol. 1.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 was released October 10, 2003.