Movie Review: Death Proof

Death Proof (4/5 stars)

Released in theater's as one part of a two-feature Grindhouse special, this film features bad-ass car chases, breath-holding stunts, and indomitable women. Quentin Tarantino directs two separate groups of young women, both harassed by a former Hollywood stunt-man, turned serial killer, played by Kurt Russell. Strange as it sounds, he purposefully murders them with his car - something I don't think I have ever encountered as the theme of a movie before.

Tarantino’s captivating story leads you by your hand, curiously through this movie, only to be disrupted in mere moments by bouts of fear, violence or shock. This plot exists in two parts - the first group of women brutally murdered by Russell, followed by a time lapse to the next group of women, unrelated to the first. Although one of the women involved with the first group feels that something is not right with this stunt-man, they ultimately brush off his behavior and unwittingly end up his victims. Next we meet the second group of girls, much more tough (physically and mentally) than the latter.

What interested me greatly with this film, is that rather than give the first group of women just an opening scene of the film, Tarantino spends about half of the movie with character development for these girls. Unconventionally, most films would demonstrate the killer's personality and power with unknown, expendable victims. What Tarantino does is greatly increase our hatred for the antagonist, so at the end of the movie, you feel a great deal of satisfaction when Russell is dealt with in a satisfactory way.

Even though the previews for this film didn't do it any justice, my main interest for seeing this movie was Zoe Bell. I saw her awhile back in a documentary called Double Dare. It features the lives of some famous stunt-women, starting off with Jeannie Epper and her family's history of Hollywood stunt actors. Zoe Bell, a New Zealand native, becomes the featured girl of the documentary, and the camera follows her from the final episode of TV show Xena: Princess Warrior, to her audition with Tarantino, and ultimately the production of massive fight-scenes in Kill Bill, as Uma Thurman's stunt-double.

In Death Proof, Bell plays herself, visiting a fellow stunt-woman and two friends in the U.S. In what (unfortunately) feels like an hour, we see the girls interacting together, setting us up for the big car-chase climax of the film. I highly enjoyed seeing Bell perform deadly car stunts, at full speed, while acting very naturally for her first time. She absolutely loves what she does, and shows it without restraint while playing herself, with enjoyable giggles while trying out new stunt equipment in Double Dare. I can’t help but adore and admire this woman! :)

Russell, on the other hand, isn't an actor I have ever cared for, or care to see in any movie; but he didn't bother me at all in this film, and I actually enjoyed his portrayal of unpredictable, calculating stunt-man Mike. Towards the end of the show, you start to realize what a deeply disturbed person he has become - or was it out-of-work boredom that has provoked his lust for murder?

Tarantino's thing lately has been featuring intensively strong women in his films, giving them fight scenes normally reduced to stereotypical male roles. In a couple scenes, these women are lusty and sexual; but presented by a stronger character, it's always of her own accord. Either way, I love what he has been doing for women in films, and highly anticipate his next venture.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. The acting was natural, the characters intriguing, the stunts are the most realistically done in any film for a long time (no CGI!), and I can never resist movies that feature girl-power! However, some of the character development felt a little stretched thin, which made the under-2-hours film feel a bit long at some points. And although you can fast-forward through a lot of the mid-movie jabber, this film is worth seeing, even just for the perfectly-coordinated, vengeful car chase!