Death Proof

One of Quentin's most personal opuses, an amazingly entertaining homage to the trash cinema of Russ Mayer et al., with great sound and cinematography. It’s not very captivating in the dialogues and doesn’t form an entirely consistent whole, but every detail is a reflection of almost supernatural cinephile love and creativity (when we get bored with the conversation at the round table, we can at least enjoy the variable single take shot). A superb Russell, sexy babes and a car chase that will take your breath away. Brilliantly executed, culminating in perhaps Quentin's funniest transition to the final credits – I would love to know where that guy finds those outrageously catchy songs. (03/04/2019)

Terribly restrained and, mainly in the first half, boring. It was real torture sitting through the first group of girls and, until stuntman Mike (the great Kurt Russell) comes on set, nothing happens. And normally Tarantino knows how to create an atmosphere. The mysterious music and the shot of the car hidden in the darkness is much more powerful than the car revving. A change comes with the nice conversation between father (sheriff) and his first-born son (deputy), which is definitely the best of all the dialog scenes (in terms of screenplay). The second group of girls has clearly more charisma (headed by Rosario Dawson) and more fun. The icing on the cake is the final car chase which is absolute genius and breathtaking. That’s why it’s a shame that the self-centered screenwriter Tarantino has to spoil all of director Tarantino’s good work. But maybe after this kick in the ass Mr. T. will pull himself together and start work on Inglourious Basterds, because it really is high time. (05/09/2007)

Some clever director's whim, a traditionally listenable soundtrack and occasionally nice cameos. That's all Tarantino gave me and this desperate spectacle made me so angry. Two completely identical parties of overdressed silly kittens with annoying dialogues, making even the conversations from worse of the director's scripts seem like genius. And on top of that, a main villain who disappears for long minutes, resulting in one unsexy dance and one tired car chase. The video rental weirdo has run out of ideas and becomes just a weirdo again, who enjoys watching somewhat strange movies. I don't blame him, but in that case, he shouldn't boast about any "the best" labels. More than a decade later, undoubtedly the worst Tarantino movie, fortunately meaning rock bottom, from which the only way was up, fortunately several floors up. (14/03/2008)

Death Proof is a cool flick full of boring girl talk and AMAZING, visceral car chases and stunts. I would expect more in the dialogue department from my beloved Tarantino; however, he (once again) pleasantly surprised me with the dynamic action of the car scenes. Kurt Russell is great and the director’s inside jokes for those familiar with his work are even better (the two policemen, the ring tone of Abernathy’s cell phone, Kurt winking at the camera, etc.) Maybe, however, Quentin should have followed Russ Meyer’s example and cast some bustier ladies so that the movie would be the “perfect” representative of the feminist exploitation genre. Let’s see what the 110-minute version will bring, but because of the dumb dialogue, I’m not willing to forgive, so I’m sticking with three stars. P.S.: Rosario Dawson is very pretty. (09/07/2007)

I have no idea why this movie is so long. Why dilute a solid story (that doesn't start until the middle of the movie) with a completely unnecessary, nearly one hour prolog? Especially since after the prolog there is a “reboot’ and we start again. In the first part, we have to watch uninteresting characters, embarrassing cameos, and wannabe cool dialogs that even the hardworking Kurt Russell can’t save. The second half is basically the same, but it works mainly thanks to the likable ladies and Tarantino dialogs. The final car chase has the right atmosphere and edge to it. Technically and stylistically, it’s perfect to the smallest detail from Quentin, but that was to be expected. It is clear that he has not only seen a lot of movies, but that he can do more than just imitate, unlike Rodriguez. In particular, the idea of advancing the plot through the use of a missing film reel is ingenious and much better executed than in Planet Terror. Overall, however, I think the Grindhouse project would only benefit from both parts being shortened. Especially in the case of Tarantino's part, which is significantly better in terms of filmmaking and style, but surprisingly lags behind his colleague's more straightforward piece in terms of entertainment. (29/06/2007)