Ode To O-Ren
I wrote about non-action heroines for the Action Heroine Blog-A-Thon to do a little something different, but the idea of not writing about a true action heroine is just too much for me. So here it is.
Adam over at Crumb by Crumb wrote in his post that he couldn't believe that more people didn't write about Uma Thurman in Kill Bill I or II. I agree, it seems a great choice. And although The Bride eventually defeats O-Ren Ishii in the snow garden, there is no more badass a scene than this one right here. Sorry, but Uma's got nothing on this lady.
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5 comments:
This is okay ... "Kill Bill" just wasn't my thing. I thought it was just too self-conscious, over-stylized, and pointlessly overlong ... just like everything Quentin's done since "Pulp Fiction."
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I thought about submitting Kill Bill to the Action Heroine blog-a-thon. It's a great film, one of the decade's best, but I can't see The Bride caring about anything not related to either her daughter or herself, which runs pretty contrary to what a hero is all about.
However, I'm glad somebody gave props to O-ren Ishii. She's my favorite character in this movie. Where else can you point to a woman who had an anime backstory, ruled the Yakuza, and dies in a spectacular sword fight? Above all, she has a code of honor. This is the best role Lucy Liu ever had and probably ever will have.
Two great posts, with this one and Laura from High Fidelity.
I love the chic in The Descent and Nikita. Uma is ten times better than Lucy...and time any where.
Ray,
Self-conscious? Come on, man. Why ya gots ta hate.
Joe,
You make an excellent comment about The Bride. She isn't really ridding the world of badness. She is motivated by selfish reasons and that does run contrary to the idea of a heroine. So that would probably make O-Ren a non-heroine. But still a kick-ass non-heroine.
My dad said that he just saw this movie for the first time and loved how bloody it was. I recalled this scene to him saying it was my favorite of the movie.
I hear Jack Black's comment in High Fidelity about people who haven't seen Evil Dead 2: "I'd think you were a cinematic idiot. And I'd feel sorry for you."
That's sort of how I feel about Kill Bill and people who don't like it, including my boss. How can you not throw your popcorn at the screen in joy when Uma Thurman breaks out of the coffin? Or David Carradine gives that Superman/Clark Kent monologue? Or the fight between Uma and Daryl Hannah in the trailer? What do you want from a movie? Ordinary People?
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