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You see the film was originally intended to be one of two movies released as a double bill under the title Grindhouse,
it’d have been director Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s homage to the
classic drive-in double header, with fake trailers in the middle to
complete the experience.
Unfortunately, since minors are
cinema’s biggest market and Lindsay Lohan was nowhere in sight, the
film bombed. Teenagers had never experienced a B-movie double feature,
let alone attended a drive-in theatre, so one of the year’s most
creative endeavours was sadly – and annoyingly – lost on them; they
just didn’t know what to make of it (and as Tarantino has said in
interviews: people didn’t care to sit in a theatre for three and a half
hours).
After the disastrous opening weekend of Grindhouse
in the states, the distributor (The Weinstein Co) decided to split the
two films (Rodriguez’s effort is a zombie film called Planet Terror)
for the rest of the world; hence robbing viewers of what would’ve been
not just a double feature but an event in itself. Not content with just
letting the big boys slap their members in his face, Tarantino’s gone
to the trouble (Rodriguez reportedly has to) of at least stretching the
duration of Death Proof so audiences will feel less jibbed and more like they’ve sat through a stand-alone movie.
Now, for all intents and purposes, Death Proof
does seem to be it’s own beast… but that doesn’t mean some won’t be
waiting around after the final credits roll for the ‘next one to start’.
Death Proof,
whether it’s in a relationship or playing with itself, is still great
entertainment – and how could it not be with the king of cool, Quentin
Tarantino, behind the camera, and the equally slick Kurt Russell
filling up most of it’s frames?
It’s intended to be a really
tacky B-grade film (like those we endured at the drive-in as
youngsters) and that’s definitely part of the appeal, but more so it’s
a fast, fun, funky and hugely enjoyable experience regardless of how
worn the film stock looks. Quite simply, it’s the most fun you can have
with your clothes on!
Russell (in a role originally intended for
Mickey Rourke) undoubtedly had the time of his life playing the film’s
lead villain, Stuntman Mike, a has-been bruise-for-hire whose set his
sights on taking down the town’s young ladies… in his charger... just
because, well, he can.
Russell is sensational in the part and
it’s clear he’s glad to be doing something a little more ‘him’ – or
‘John Carpenter’ – again. If Death Proof
has done anything it’s remind us just how great Russell is, and how
underutilised he’s been of late. Having said that, he does really only
appear in the first and third acts of the film.
Not to say the
bodacious bouquet of beauties that surround him in the film aren’t just
as grand - Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sydney Poiter, Rosario Dawson,
Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Tracie Thoms, Rose McGowan, and real-life
stuntwoman Zoe Bell (she was Uma Thurman’s double in Kill Bill
and plays herself here) are superb. Most importantly, they look like
they’re having just as much fun as their legendary co-star.
Bell,
in particular, finally gets the chance to show us what she’s made of
her acting-wise… though, needless to say, her stunt work again takes
centre stage (she straddles the bonnet of a fast-moving charger at the
end of the film – very impressive).
There will no doubt be a lot
of folks who ‘don’t get’ the movie – mainly because it looks (with its
scratchy film stock) and plays (its very cheesy, and the plot is very
reminiscent of one of those thinly-written exploitation flicks of the
70s) – but those that do know the language its speaking, will be
welcomingly and instantly transported back in time. Even if you do
think the film plays trite, you’ve gotta admit that it features
Tarantino’s trademark cooler-than-cool dialogue!
Yes, many will have wished they’d seen Death Proof and Planet Terror
in a double bill, but think of it this way… at least we’re getting the
films, and extended versions of them of that, sure beats sitting
through another Grudge or Garfield sequel, right?
Worth the double dip!
EXTRAS
The extras – which sad to say doesn’t include a commentary track by
Tarantino – will largely only appeal to die-hard QT fans; they include
featurettes on Russell’s character, Bell, casting the actors and the
film’s editor. Hopefully the inevitable Grindhouse "double" DVD
includes those fake trailers we would’ve seen had the double-bill
stayed intact. Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 60%
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