I've seen most of Tarantino's offerings, and generally like all that I've seen. I have read and commented on the message boards for many of them, and I've read and commented on this one as well.
"Death Proof" is Tarantino's half of the "Grindhouse" double feature, and it is not only a quintessential "grindhouse" production, it is a quintessential Tarantino film. It features all of his repeated themes and motifs: bare foot fetishism, inspired retro music, lurid sets and colors; odd camera angles, references to '70's films, amazing stunts, minimalist use of computer-generated effects when the old-fashioned type won't do, and the one thing that I have seen his work panned the most for---extended dialogue. Characters sitting around, talking about inconsequential things, the trivia and meaninglessness of their little lives. Boorr-ing!!!
That is not the case, and you critics are missing the point. It doesn't matter whether or nor we like these people, these fictional characters who may or may not be about to get killed off. It is through the words that they say to each other that they reveal who they are. We may not like who they are, we may not identify with them, but we can identify them. We come to know them. They fill in the blank spaces in the character's soul, and make them three dimensional human beings.
There are long passages where the characters--in this case two separate groups of young women--sit around talking. We learn what their backgrounds are, their hopes, their dreams, their petty annoyances. They reveal what it is that makes them who they are by what they say to each other. They reveal what their intentions are, and they further the plot thereby. When the time comes for action--and there is plenty of that (this IS a Tarantino film, after all)--it is completely in character. The wordy dialogue that was written off as boring, mindless chatter is brought to life in adrenaline-pumping action.
And that is what makes this "Grindhouse" movie great entertainment. It's not supposed to be something we meditate on in the quiet moments of our lives, it is raw entertainment--filled with sexy babes, violent action, and all the movie artistry that true craftsmen can provide.
"Death Proof" is Tarantino's half of the "Grindhouse" double feature, and it is not only a quintessential "grindhouse" production, it is a quintessential Tarantino film. It features all of his repeated themes and motifs: bare foot fetishism, inspired retro music, lurid sets and colors; odd camera angles, references to '70's films, amazing stunts, minimalist use of computer-generated effects when the old-fashioned type won't do, and the one thing that I have seen his work panned the most for---extended dialogue. Characters sitting around, talking about inconsequential things, the trivia and meaninglessness of their little lives. Boorr-ing!!!
That is not the case, and you critics are missing the point. It doesn't matter whether or nor we like these people, these fictional characters who may or may not be about to get killed off. It is through the words that they say to each other that they reveal who they are. We may not like who they are, we may not identify with them, but we can identify them. We come to know them. They fill in the blank spaces in the character's soul, and make them three dimensional human beings.
There are long passages where the characters--in this case two separate groups of young women--sit around talking. We learn what their backgrounds are, their hopes, their dreams, their petty annoyances. They reveal what it is that makes them who they are by what they say to each other. They reveal what their intentions are, and they further the plot thereby. When the time comes for action--and there is plenty of that (this IS a Tarantino film, after all)--it is completely in character. The wordy dialogue that was written off as boring, mindless chatter is brought to life in adrenaline-pumping action.
And that is what makes this "Grindhouse" movie great entertainment. It's not supposed to be something we meditate on in the quiet moments of our lives, it is raw entertainment--filled with sexy babes, violent action, and all the movie artistry that true craftsmen can provide.