Death Proof
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson
Genre: Crime / Action
Rated: Unrated
Duration: 1hr 54mins (extended version)
Plot: Two separate pairs of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his “death proof” cars to execute his murderous plans.
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My Review: Death Proof isn’t Kill Bill, it isn’t Pulp Fiction, but it is definitely Quentin Tarantino. Coming off a disappointing run in the domestic box office as a coupled feature along with Planet Terror, Death Proof was released separately overseas as well as the recent DVD release. Not only was it released as a standalone version but DP was also extended out an extra 30 minutes, which was credited with making the film much more complete. This extended, international release is what you’ll find on DVD with no option to watch the original theatrical version. I missed this in the original release as I had no interest in Planet Terror, so with nothing to compare it against I’d have to say that I may have preferred the shorter cut.

Death Proof could be broken into two separate parts with the first taking place on grainy film which was likely to present a more classic, aged feel to the movie. During this first part we follow Stuntman Mike (Russell) as he stalks a group of young women at a local bar. The characters are fairly interesting and fun to watch interact in a rather contained environment. Don’t get too attached to them though as you know Tarantino’s love for over the top violence and gore. From there we jump to the “months later” second part of the movie which begins in B&W but suddenly jumps over to full color. It’s this second part of the movie that dragged on for me and I would guess was the receiving end of the extended 30 minutes. This second group of ladies spend most of their time talking before finally getting to the action. The action here is pretty good and gives us a great racing scene between the competing cars with an equally over the top ending as the first round.

I wasn’t too thrilled with Death Proof though it had many of the usual touches you’d come to expect from Quentin Tarantino. Kurt Russell did a great job in his role of Stuntman Mike and the story definitely had its moments. However, it was the dragging portions and sudden conclusion that left me wanting more. If you’re a Tarantino fan than this will be worth checking out, otherwise I’d give this a pass.

Rating: 3/5 stars
High Point: classic Tarantino film
Low Point: second half dragged on

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