"KILL BILL VOL. 1"
(2003) (Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Extreme	Extreme	Mild	Extreme
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	Mild	Mild	Minor	Extreme
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Mild	Moderate	Moderate	Extreme

---

QUICK TAKE:

Action/Adventure: A highly trained assassin sets out to find and kill those who wiped out her wedding party and left her in a coma for four years.

PLOT:

It's been four years since a highly trained but pregnant assassin known as Black Mamba (UMA THURMAN) had her leader and former lover, Bill (DAVID CARRADINE), turn his other assassins loose on her at her wedding. With the rest of the party brutally killed, Bill let her live, but she slipped into and stayed in a coma until now.

Once out of it, she decides to get her revenge on the rest of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad that includes Vernita Green (VIVICA A. FOX), Elle Driver (DARYL HANNAH), Sidewinder (MICHAEL MADSEN) and O-Ren Ishii (LUCY LIU). The latter is first on her list, but considering her formidable assistant, Sophie Fatale (JULIE DREYFUSS), and deadly bodyguard, Go Go Yubari (CHIAKI KURIYAMA), Black Mamba knows she'll have the fight of her life on her hands.

Yet, with the aid of master Japanese swordsman, Hattori Honzo (SONNY CHIBA), she picks her weapon and sets out to kill Bill and the rest of his squad.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

Anyone who's a fan of someone in the cast probably will, but the biggest crowd will likely be from teenage fans of director Quentin "Pulp Fiction" Tarantino.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

UMA THURMAN plays a once pregnant assassin who sets out to get revenge on Bill and her former squad members who killed her wedding party and left her comatose for four years. She kills many people without any remorse.

DAVID CARRADINE plays former leader and lover who let her live after the brutal attack on her wedding party.

VIVICA A. FOX plays another former assassin who's trying to lead a domestic life, but must contend with Black Mamba's vengeful ways.

LUCY LIU plays a powerful, top Japanese assassin who was in on the wedding day massacre. She battles Black Mamba, kills others and uses strong profanity.

DARYL HANNAH plays another of the assassin squad members who was in on the attack.

JULIE DREYFUSS plays O-Ren Ishii's steely personal assistant.

CHIAKI KURIYAMA plays O-Ren Ishii deadly bodyguard who does battle with Black Mamba.

SONNY CHIBA plays a formerly retired Japanese swordsman and sword maker who crafts a new and deadly blade for Black Mamba.

MICHAEL MADSEN plays another member of the assassination squad who's on Black Mamba's hit list.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

---

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

---

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated action-adventure flick. Profanity consists of at least 17 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, while a man prepares to rape a comatose woman in exchange for money.

Other violence consists of many graphic fight sequences where people are wound or killed, often with extremely bloody and graphic results (including decapitation and many instances of dismemberment). Much of the violence is very stylistically done (thus possibly proving enticing to imitate), but it's also often so over the top and/or exaggerated that it's not exactly realistic. Even so, some of it may be disturbing to some viewers.

Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some drink and/or smoke. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

---

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

Black Mamba orders some sake.

We see a young Go Go guzzling from a bottle.

O-Ren Ishii and others drink some sort of liquor.

Some people drink in a restaurant where the manager hurries a bunch of bottles of booze up to O-Ren Ishii's private room.

BLOOD/GORE

We see a black and white image of Black Mamba breathing hard and with blood all over her face (a close-up). We then see Bill's hand wiping up some of the blood with a handkerchief.

The sudden sound of a gunshot and brief splatter of blood from a person's head might startle some viewers.

We see a flashback of Vernita hitting a pregnant Black Mamba, with bloody results.

Black Mamba and Vernita have blood on their faces and arms during a vicious fight.

We see many bodies lying on the floor (an overhead shot) with blood on them and the floor. We then hear that nine people in a wedding party were executed and see more shots (closer) of the dead and bloody bodies.

A bloody victim suddenly spits out some blood.

Black Mamba bites into a rapist's tongue (we see it stretched out quite far from his mouth) and has blood on her face and shirt from him. We then see his body on the floor with blood on his face and shirt.

Black Mamba slices the back of a guy's ankle (with bloody results).

We see martial arts violence (anime style) in an animated clip where brutal contact is made and a victim is smashed into a wall and pummeled (with bloody, cartoon results). A sword is then pulled from the victim's midsection with lots of cartoon blood blasting out. That man's wife is then thrown onto a bed where a large samurai sword is driven down through her and the bed below her (seen from below, with the blade nearly striking their daughter hiding there). Blood then pools under the bed and drips down onto the girl (still all in an anime cartoon).

We see an animated version of O-Ren Ishii (age 11) getting revenge on the man who killed her parents. She stabs down into him with a large blade, killing him and spilling blood (lots of it sprays out). Two of his goons then enter the room and open fire at her. She then shoots them from under the bed, first in the legs and then the heads, with resultant cartoon blood.

We see a cartoon version of O-Ren Ishii as a young adult assassin and she shoots a man in the head (in a limo), killing him with bloody results.

O-Ren Ishii beheads a man, with lots of exaggerated blood spraying up from his body. We see several shots of the bloody, severed head (including when she holds it up), the headless body and some blood on O-Ren Ishii.

We see a flashback to O-Ren Ishii hitting the pregnant Black Mamba, with some blood on her face.

Sophie has a little blood on her lip.

Black Mamba cuts off a woman's arm, resulting in bloody spraying out with lots then on the floor and some on Black Mamba's face and clothes. She then kills more people, with additional bloody results.

Go Go causes razor blades to come out of a large ball and chain that strikes Black Mamba, slicing and bloodying her. Later, Black Mamba takes a board with a nail sticking from it and strikes Go Go's foot with it (with bloody results) and then hits her on the head with it (resulting in blood coming from her eyes before she falls to the floor).

Black Mamba fights many men, striking them with her sword and injuring or killing them (with bloody results, including the sight of severed limbs). She also yanks a man's eye from his head (with bloody/gory results). This sort of fighting and dismembering (of limbs, heads, and half bodies, etc.) continues for a quite a while, with a tremendous amount of victims and bloody/gory results (some of the footage briefly turns to black and white before returning to color).

Black Mamba fights several more people, including cutting off a man's leg.

We see a long shot of a large room filled with dead, wounded and bloody people who fought Black Mamba.

Black Mamba battles O-Ren Ishii in a sword battle where the latter slices BM's back with bloody results.

We see a line of blood spray into some snow and then a scalp land there as well. We then see a person collapse, with the top part of their head missing (we see bloody brains inside).

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Bill and those responsible for killing Black Mamba's wedding party and leaving her in a comatose state obviously have extreme cases of bad attitudes.

A hospital orderly brings in another man to have sex (in exchange for money) with the presumably comatose Black Mamba (although she's now just faking it).

Various people try to kill Black Mamba through the movie, while she kills many without remorse in her vindictive spree.

The term "Jap" is used in a derogatory fashion.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence" and/or "Blood/Gore" may also be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, but most are played in such an exaggerated/over-the-top fashion that little of it's realistic.

A woman prepares to murder a comatose woman with a needle injection, but is called off before she can do the deed.

A hospital orderly brings in another man to have sex with the presumably comatose Black Mamba (although she's now just faking it).

Black Mamba tries to stay wedged up on a ceiling as a suspicious Go Go comes out to look for her (and is directly below her).

GUNS/WEAPONS

Swords/Handguns/Other martial arts weapons: Used to wound or kill many people. See "Violence" for details.

We see a close-up of a bullet loading and then firing from a gun shot at a person's head (the proximity of the internal workings of the gun might be unnerving to some viewers).

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases (some in English subtitles): "I know I f*cked you over," "F*ck you, bitch," "Kiss my motherf*cking ass," "For f*ck's sake," "My name's Buck, I'm here to f*ck," "You f*cker," "F*ck face," "Now's the f*cking time," "Sh*tcan," "You don't owe her sh*t," "Sh*thead," "Tall drink of a c*cks*cker," "Bitch" (said many times early in the film), "Come on, bitch," "How about tonight, bitch?" "Knocked up" (pregnant), "Moron," "Get your freak on," "Screw," "Lazy bastard," "Shut up," "Who gives a damn?" and "Burn in hell."

Black Mamba wears a midriff-revealing top.

We see a car with the words "P*ssy wagon" written on it.

All of the stylistic fighting, swordplay and other stunts might be enticing for some kids to imitate.

JUMP SCENES

The sudden sound of a gunshot and brief splatter of blood from a person's head might startle some viewers.

A bloody victim suddenly spits out some blood.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

A mild amount of suspenseful music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

A song has the repeated lyrics about "My baby shot me down" and "bang, bang."

PROFANITY

At least 17 "f" words (2 used with "mother," 3 used sexually as is the term "screw"), 10 "s" words, 7 slang terms using female genitals ("c*nt" and "p*ssy" -- the latter of which is said and also seen written on a truck), 2 using male genitals ("d*cks" and "c*cks*cker"), 3 asses, 3 hells, 2 damns, 1 S.O.B., 7 uses of "G-damn" and 1 use of "Oh my God" as exclamations (some in English subtitles).

SEX/NUDITY

We see a car with the words "P*ssy wagon" written on it.

A hospital orderly brings in another man to have sex with the presumably comatose Black Mamba (although she's now just faking it). The orderly says, "$75 a f*ck," comments on the guy getting "your freak on," and tells the man that since her "plumbing doesn't work down there," that he can "come in her all you want." He then gives the man some Vaseline and comments on lubing her up with that due to dryness down there. The orderly leaves and the man then crawls on top of Black Mamba, but she bites into his tongue (and apparently kills him off screen). Later, a comment is made, "My name's Buck, I'm here to f*ck."

We see an animated version of O-Ren Ishii (age 11) getting revenge on the man who killed her parents. He's noted as being a pedophile (which is how she apparently got to be with him) but she stabs down into him with a large blade, killing him.

In a flashback, a young Go Go asks a guy, "Do you want to screw me?" He nods yes, but she stabs and kills him instead. She then asks whether he still wants to "penetrate me?"

The camera briefly focuses on Black Mamba's clothed butt as she walks away from the camera.

SMOKING

Elle smokes once, while some miscellaneous characters smoke. In addition, a cartoon man smokes a cigar. Later, a man shoots a bottle of booze and uses a cigar to ignite it.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

A 4-year-old sees a person kill her mother (but little is made of that and we never see her again).

Black Mamba wakes up from her several year coma to discover that she's no longer pregnant and her baby is presumably dead.

We hear that O-Ren Ishii's parents were killed when she was nine.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Revenge.

Rape.

The film being an homage to various sorts of other films.

The film's violence being exaggerated to the point that it's no longer entirely realistic.

VIOLENCE

We see a flashback of Vernita hitting a pregnant Black Mamba, with bloody results.

Black Mamba gets into a martial arts fight with Vernita where many brutal punches and kicks are delivered to each other. Room damage occurs during this scene that also includes one stopping a strong chokehold by hitting the other with a fireplace poker, being smashed into a table and having a bookcase knocked onto one of them. Black Mamba then blocks Vernita's repeated knife jabs with a frying pan and wood is used to hit the other.

Vernita shoots at Black Mamba with a gun through a box of cereal, but misses. Black Mamba then kicks her coffee mug at Vernita and then throws a knife that impales Vernita in the chest, killing her.

We see many bodies lying on the floor (an overhead shot) with blood on them and the floor. We then hear that nine people in a wedding party were executed and see more shots (closer) of the dead and bloody bodies.

A woman prepares to murder a comatose woman with a needle injection, but is called off before she can do the deed.

A hospital orderly brings in another man to have sex with (rape) the presumably comatose Black Mamba (although she's now just faking it. The orderly leaves and the man then crawls on top of Black Mamba, but she bites into his tongue (and apparently kills him off screen).

Black Mamba then prepares (holding a knife) for the orderly to return while discovering that her legs don't work anymore (from being in the coma). She then slices the back of the guy's ankle (with bloody results) and then repeatedly smashes his head between a door and its frame (in a brutal fashion).

We see martial arts violence (anime style) in an animated clip where brutal contact is made and a victim is smashed into a wall and pummeled (with bloody, cartoon results). A sword is then pulled from the victim's midsection with lots of cartoon blood blasting out. That man's wife is then thrown onto a bed where a large samurai sword is driven down through her and the bed below her (seen from below, with the blade nearly striking their daughter hiding there). Blood then pools under the bed and drips down onto the girl (still all in an anime cartoon).

Following that, a man shoots a bottle of booze and uses a cigar to ignite it.

We see an animated version of O-Ren Ishii (age 11) getting revenge on the man who killed her parents. He's noted as being a pedophile (which is how she apparently got to be with him) and she stabs down into him with a large blade, killing him and spilling blood (lots of it sprays out). Two of his goons then enter the room and open fire at her. She then shoots them from under the bed, first in the legs and then the heads, with resultant cartoon blood.

We see a cartoon version of O-Ren Ishii as a young adult assassin and she shoots a man in the head (in a limo), killing him with bloody results.

We see a cartoon version of many people hitting the pregnant Black Mamba.

A Japanese man bends his subordinate's finger and then throws something at him.

In a flashback, a young Go Go asks a guy, "Do you want to screw me?" He nods yes, but she stabs and kills him instead (we don't see the impact, but do see lots of blood when she pulls the blade out).

A member of a crime council smashes something in protest. In turn, O-Ren Ishii beheads him, with lots of exaggerated blood spraying up from his body. We see several shots of the bloody, severed head (including when she holds it up), the headless body and some blood on O-Ren Ishii.

We see a flashback to O-Ren Ishii hitting the pregnant Black Mamba, with some blood on her face.

Black Mamba cuts off a woman's arm, resulting in bloody spraying out with lots then on the floor and some on Black Mamba's face and clothes.

Various men from O-Ren Ishii's camp try to attack Black Mamba who fends them off with a sword, even lifting one from the floor with it. She kills all of them, with some bloody results.

Go Go approaches Black Mamba with a large ball and chain that she repeatedly uses to smash and disarm Black Mamba and cause some property damage. One attempted strike, however, ends up bouncing back and hitting Go Go on the back of the head. Go Go then causes razor blades to come out of the large ball and swings that at Black Mamba, slicing and bloodying her. She then wraps the chain around Black Mamba's neck, strangling her. In turn, Black Mamba takes a board with a nail sticking from it and strikes Go Go's foot with it (with bloody results) and then hits her on the head with it (resulting in blood coming from her eyes before she falls to the floor).

Many men then surround Black Mamba who's armed with just her sword. As they attack her one by one, and sometimes in small groups, she strikes them with her sword, injuring or killing them (with bloody results, including the sight of dismembered limbs). She also yanks a man's eye from his head (with bloody/gory results). This sort of fighting and dismembering (of limbs, heads, and half bodies, etc.) continues for a quite a while, with a tremendous amount of victims and bloody/gory results (some of the footage briefly turns to black and white before returning to color).

Black Mamba fights several more people, including cutting off a man's leg, prompting a long fall to the floor below.

Black Mamba battles O-Ren Ishii in a sword battle where the latter slices BM's back with bloody results.

We see a line of blood spray into some snow and then a scalp land there as well. We then see a person collapse, with the top part of their head missing (we see bloody brains inside).

Black Mamba throws Sophie down a snowy hill.

Reviewed October 3, 2003 / Posted October 10, 2003

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.

All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2022 Screen It, Inc.