Movie review - Death Proof

'I used to think Tarantino was pretty cool'

'Kill Bill was good, wasnt it?'

'Yeah, Pulp Fiction was a top movie too'

These are just some of the things you might find yourself saying if you are unlucky enough to sit through the agony of Death Proof. Perhaps ole man Quentin was being a bit clever with this title, because the audience will be amazed that THEY haven't died after the non-stop, excruciating agony of this movie.

Wow, it is really that bad.

I had seen the shorts for this movie on TV and I thought it looked ok - not great, but not horrible. Ole man Quentin has made some pretty awesome movies. Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction are both up there as some of my faves. However, I was sadly mistaken.

Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction show good character development and have twisting and turning plots delivered in (somewhat) unique and interesting ways. The over the top violence and swearing make for a bit of a fun ride, but ultimately it is the stories that make them great films. Pulp Fiction is a wildly twisted, tangled web of storylines and people, and the way it is cut - with the various characters getting their own chapters - keeps the storytelling interesting and surprising. The Kill Bill films use a classic revenge story, and also use chapters to dynamic effect.

The same features are sadly lacking in Death Proof.

The premise of Death Proof is that Stuntman Mike, played by Kurt 'I thought you were dead' Russell, stalks and terrorises groups of young women. There are two groups of victims, and each group is given their own section in the movie - with the second group being targeted 14 months after the first. Similarly to Kill Bill, the story is really about revenge, with the second group seeking vengeance on Mike for the unknown-to-them murders of the first group.

This story is not in itself bad. It makes for some creepy viewing as Stuntman Mike gets close to his targets and then moves in for the kill. It certainly came as a surprise to me when I realised that Mike was in fact a bad guy. I dont know if this was because the story was so great, or because I was missing the point.

The massive problem with this movie is that it is overloaded with meaningless, boring, inconsequential dialog. The first group of girls in particular - led by local radio announcer 'Jungle Julia' (played by Sydney Poitier) - are inherently unlikeable. Their very limited conversations cover off on drugs, the need to score, and talking about sex, all in a very low brow and uninteresting way. I dont think I am a 'high brow' person, but seriously these women were boring, boring, boring, and I just did not give a monkey's about what happened to them. So when Mike did the deed, I didn't feel any sympathy or sadness for them.

The second group of girls sees the introduction of Zoe Bell playing herself. Zoe was apparently the stand-in/stunt woman for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. It is glaringly obvious that Ole Man Quentin has the hots for Ole Zoe. And it is the self-indulgent wankfest that follows that really breaks the camel's back for this film. Again, the dialog in the latter half of the film is trashy and boring, and Ole Man Quentin takes every opportunity to put Zoe on a pedestal. He also throws in all sorts of obscure movie references, as if to further impress on everyone that he has an encyclopedic knowledge of all cult and underground cinema. This does not impress.

Ultimately, after watching Death Proof I was left with the feeling that maybe Ole Man Quentin is not as good as I thought he was. The failings of this movie highlight some aspects of his previous work that I didnt really think about before. For instance, the non-stop idol worshipping of Zoe Bell really seems like the desperate, self-indulgent attempts of a rich, loser director to get his rocks off. Sound familiar? Well it is a lot like Kill Bill (and Pulp Fiction to an extent) really in this regard, but with Zoe filling in for Uma.

To be balanced, this film was not presented in the way it was originally intended. This was part of a double feature that paid tribute to 'grindhouse' cinema. Ole Man Quentin simply added extra time to this film and made it its own feature. Big mistake.

I think Margaret Pomeranz summed this up pretty well when she said: 'It's sort of like a male wet dream, you know, and where they're talking about, you know, the sex with the guy the night before, constantly. Every scene, every sequence goes on way too long. You want to slap him across the jaws and say, "Get your act together and cut all that bit out" '. I could not agree more, and will definitely think twice before investing my hard earned in another QT flick.

Avoid it at all costs

Would I buy it on DVD: No way, not even for a buck