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- 910
- Reaction score
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I recently watched the Unrated Versions of Planet Terror & Death Proof (with the trailers too). I was gonna review both of them as a Grindhouse piece but I've got a slight confession to make. I kinda fell asleep through a little bit of Planet Terror so I wont review it, as I think it's only fair to review films when you're fully conscious throughout.
There will be spoliers in this review.
Anyway, I loved the first half of the movie. I liked Tarantino's girly talk & their story. I thought the acting was strong and I thought their ending was pretty good. I was confused during the first half as a lot of critics accused Tarantino of being self indulgent in this movie & I didn't see why that was.
That was until the second half started.
It was the same set up again. A group of girls in a car, girly talk then Stunt Man Mike. I very quickly began to dislike the 2nd half for many reasons.
1, The 2nd half generally speaking is just the same as the 1st half, just with a different (better) ending. Thus rendering the entire 1st half of the movie pointless.
2, The characters in the 1st half were better developed than the 2nd half characters. I cared what happened to the girls in the 1st half, wasn't bothered at all about the girls in the 2nd half.
3, This is the first time I was uncomfortable with the language in a Tarantino movie. Hearing the girls in the 2nd half calling each other Nigger really didn't feel right to me. Not sure why, all I know is when the word was used in this film I felt uncomfortable & considering I love the TV program The Wire I'm pretty sure it's not because I'm a prude. Maybe the fact it was women talking like that which made me uncomfortable. So I'm not a prude but I am sexist lol.
4, The acting was weak in the 2nd half.
SPOILER!!!
5, IMO the film is morally flawed. I know this film is in the tradition of Grindhouse, X Rated, Video Nasty type films, but I still think it's flawed. This is because I don't think the killing of Stunt Man Mike was justified for the girls in the 2nd half. Sure the guy attacked them, but not one of the girls had a scratch on them afterwoulds, even the the girl who flew off the car was unmarked!!! So when they killed him it didn't feel like they had given him a taste of his own medicine it felt like they were murderers rather than girls getting revenge. In the 2nd half of the film if one of the girls had been killed from SMM's attack, then killing him would of been fine, but like I said that wasn't the case. I mean in Kill Bill The Bride was betrayed, shot in the head, left for dead, lost her baby & routinely raped. As a result she had a moral right to kill, not so in Death Proof.
I know you're probably thinking, "Well he did kill the girls in the 1st half". True, but the girls in the 2nd half didn't know that, it's a totally separate story. I actually felt sorry for Stunt Man Mike by the end of the film, which I'm sure wasn't Tarantino's intention.
Personally, I think the 1st half should of been a 30min opener Psycho style. Then 30mins of getting to know the 2nd group of girls & the last 30mins of the girls getting revenge on SMM for killing their friend. Sadly no edit is gonna give me that.
3/10
There will be spoliers in this review.
Anyway, I loved the first half of the movie. I liked Tarantino's girly talk & their story. I thought the acting was strong and I thought their ending was pretty good. I was confused during the first half as a lot of critics accused Tarantino of being self indulgent in this movie & I didn't see why that was.
That was until the second half started.
It was the same set up again. A group of girls in a car, girly talk then Stunt Man Mike. I very quickly began to dislike the 2nd half for many reasons.
1, The 2nd half generally speaking is just the same as the 1st half, just with a different (better) ending. Thus rendering the entire 1st half of the movie pointless.
2, The characters in the 1st half were better developed than the 2nd half characters. I cared what happened to the girls in the 1st half, wasn't bothered at all about the girls in the 2nd half.
3, This is the first time I was uncomfortable with the language in a Tarantino movie. Hearing the girls in the 2nd half calling each other Nigger really didn't feel right to me. Not sure why, all I know is when the word was used in this film I felt uncomfortable & considering I love the TV program The Wire I'm pretty sure it's not because I'm a prude. Maybe the fact it was women talking like that which made me uncomfortable. So I'm not a prude but I am sexist lol.
4, The acting was weak in the 2nd half.
SPOILER!!!
5, IMO the film is morally flawed. I know this film is in the tradition of Grindhouse, X Rated, Video Nasty type films, but I still think it's flawed. This is because I don't think the killing of Stunt Man Mike was justified for the girls in the 2nd half. Sure the guy attacked them, but not one of the girls had a scratch on them afterwoulds, even the the girl who flew off the car was unmarked!!! So when they killed him it didn't feel like they had given him a taste of his own medicine it felt like they were murderers rather than girls getting revenge. In the 2nd half of the film if one of the girls had been killed from SMM's attack, then killing him would of been fine, but like I said that wasn't the case. I mean in Kill Bill The Bride was betrayed, shot in the head, left for dead, lost her baby & routinely raped. As a result she had a moral right to kill, not so in Death Proof.
I know you're probably thinking, "Well he did kill the girls in the 1st half". True, but the girls in the 2nd half didn't know that, it's a totally separate story. I actually felt sorry for Stunt Man Mike by the end of the film, which I'm sure wasn't Tarantino's intention.
Personally, I think the 1st half should of been a 30min opener Psycho style. Then 30mins of getting to know the 2nd group of girls & the last 30mins of the girls getting revenge on SMM for killing their friend. Sadly no edit is gonna give me that.
3/10