Review of Death Proof (2007) by Bill M — 27 Nov 2016

Death Proof, when separated from the whole of the giddy, thrilling Grindhouse presents itself as possibly Tarantino's weakest film overall, along with the flawed but truly fascinating oddity that is Kill Bill Volume 2 (really watch it again, there are s a strange mixture of tones and moods going on, it's got a really weird vibe to it) it occupies space at the bottom of the big chinned geniuses filmography as a minor entry in eight film (or seven if you count Kill Bill as one movie) legacy so far.

The script for starters is noticeably weaker than usual, the sharp, witty conversations concerning characters covering a whole lot of random subjects and pop culture references, here feels a little forced, not as sharp and effortless as expected from the same man who gave us Dennis Hoppers Sicilians scene in "True Romance" or Christopher Walken's jaw dropping gold watch monologue in Pulp Fiction.

It feels a bit too slight as well, like it covers not much ground and just stops, it's like an 80 minute long film that has been stretched to two hours. Another issue is that the second group of Characters just aren't as engaging as the gang of girl buddies we spend the first half with, the chicks in the first half jump from bar to bar, banter, listen to jukebox music and dance, their cool and fun to be around, giving the film a chilled out, vibe that is really infectious, it's a true hang out movie and these girls feel like they could be actual mates unlike the less believable bunch later on.

The movie is broken in half by one of the most brutal car crashes ever filmed, and on multiple watches is noticeably not quite as good again after. For some reason Tarantino also mostly ditches the grainy film stock for the second half , robbing the film of it's grainy, textured look.

I will say that I like the next group of ladies very much, Zoe Bell adds so much to the film, with her kiwi accent in tact and her stunt woman skills in full display she gives the film an added something, seeing the actual lead actress gripping onto the front bonnet of a speeding car and seeing that it's truly her adds a terrifying viscerality to the final chase, which by the way is one of the greatest car chases ever put on screen, there's a rawness to the length of it plus Zoe Bell's scary as fuck in camera derring-do that is incredibly thrilling.

Plus Kurt Russel just owns the fuck out of every moment he's in, his Stuntman Mike is by turns charismatic, cool, vulnerable, creepy, repugnant, vicious, and even hilariously pathetic, it's a towering performance and an indelible, unique character.

He makes the movie.