Death Proof
Posted by Travis on April 13th, 2007
Now that the dust has settled on my new domain, let’s start things off with a movie review. Last week, a fellow blogger friend, Urban Docent, and I got to go see Tarantino and Rodriguez’s new feature, Grindhouse. We both enjoyed the film and decided to split up the review process. I would review Tarantino’s Death Proof, and he would review Rodriguez’s Planet Terror.
If you aren’t familiar with the concept of Grindhouse, let me give you a quick rundown. Grindhouse cinemas, which gained popularity in the 70’s were known for their violent, zany, and even pornographic exploitation films that relied more on sensationalism than art. They are entertaining, and strangely endearing due to their clumsy editing, off-the-wall ideas, and cheesy acting. These films were often shown in double features. So the basic concept of the film Grindhouse, is to take two films in homage to this style, and show them together, complete with fake trailers of like films. All of this culminates in quite an interesting, funny, thrilling, and altogether entertaining experience. Initially I was mad about my ticket being $9.50, but I definitely got my money’s worth..
Now to get to the specifics of this review: Death Proof itself. Kurt Russell plays a psychotic stuntman named Stuntman Mike bent on getting a thrill from hunting down and killing women with his death proof stunt car. I will avoid specific spoilers, but basically Stuntman Mike’s sense of reality is limited to the fact that he views himself invincible and impervious to injury. He soon finds out this is not true.
Death Proof was actually my favorite of the two. It starts out making a lot of similar Grindhouse jokes as Planet Terror did, albeit a little more subtle. All of the film scratches, clumsy editing, and dropped frames and audio are there. But eventually, Tarantino is done making jokes and is ready to really show you a film. As with almost all Tarantino films, some of the most entertaining dialogue comes from characters in a diner, enjoying their food. Are they talking about anything necessary to the film? No, but they are essentially telling us who they are. One of these characters, Zoe Bell, plays herself. I hadn’t heard of her before seeing Death Proof, but she is a stuntwoman from New Zealand who was Uma’s stunt double in Kill Bill. She performs quite an impressive and lengthy stunt which immediately gives credence to previous dialogue in the film. In it, Stuntman Mike waxes eloquent about there being no CGI in the “old days”. Basically, this earnestness and simplicity is what’s compelling about these exploitation films.
The action sequences are tight and intense. At this point in the movie, all production budget jokes have been made, and the well directed and edited sequences will keep you on the edge of your seat. Death Proof is altogether thrilling, smart, and fun. So far, it’s my favorite film of 2007.
Apparently, the theatrical release of Grindhouse is just the beginning. Both Death Proof and Planet Terror will be released in extended versions on DVD, the fake trailer for Machete will be made into a straight-to-DVD release, and a video game tie-in for Planet Terror is already in development.
Final Score: A-