The frames are damaged, full of grain, becoming dead on imitations of junk films both visually and thematically. Both Tarantino's Death Proof and Robert Rodriquez's Planet Terror (the other feature from Grindhouse) use this style
One key difference. Planet Terror is so over the top that it becomes a BLAST; not a perfect or even a good film, but certainly deserving of a 7/10 star rating simply for its entertainment value. Death Proof on the other hand is very down to earth in its premise and without many exaggerated stylistic choices just becomes what it set out to be: a trashy, boring film.
As a story it is generic (as it should be) following a group of girls stalked by a man named "Stuntman Mike" (Kurt Russell)who drives a "death proof" retired stunt car. He stalks them, kills them with his car, then skips state to repeat the process elsewhere. He is a fun character speaking in a pleasant Southern drawl, passing himself off as a nice guy. Too bad he has little screen time compared to our three female protagonists who are boring as can be. I kept checking the clock wondering how long it would take these bimbos to become street pizza! After a bar sequence that seems to go on forever (where I have to admit, Tarantino's cameo as the manager is the second most entertaining aspect of this film right after Kurt Russell) I have to admit the stunts in this film really are remarkable. Stuntman Mike isn't joking about his set of wheels given that all the chases in this film are for real. When he talks about what a shame it is to have lost the old time values of using real cars and stuntmen over CGI crashes it really shows. Nothing can top the thrill of seeing real vehicles getting, smashed, slammed, and creating mayhem. No computer program can compare to live action.
After a thrilling stunt where Stuntman Mike kills a group of girls through a straight on collision (while Tarantino delivers the promised Grindhouse style gore) we are greeted to a cameo from by the cops from Kill Bill before moving on to the second act. This is where things really begin to fall apart. For the most part the second half seems a poor excuse to show off Tarantino's lead Kill Bill stuntwoman Zoë Bell's skill as she hangs for dear life on the hood of a car during a chase.
Like Kill Bill, Vol.2 the second half of this film is so different than the first that it seems to be something entirely different. Stuntman Mike who is an intimidating, soft-spoken stalker in the first half suddenly becomes an obnoxious over actor. Now I have no problem, because Kurt Russell hamming it up certainly was amusing for awhile, but it was very out of place given how calm his character was during the first half of the film. Over the top or serious Tarantino, you have to choose one or the other and stick with it! Speaking of the acting it really is a wonder as Tarantino, to preserve the concept of this being a junk film intentionally baits the cast to do stupid, amateur stunts such as looking directly into the camera for entire scenes at a time, breaking the fourth wall, and just being general hams. Nothing can be much funnier than a truly awful movie, but the film actually had to be completely unaware of how bad it is. Death Proof it is clearly intentional, and though this might be amusing when a viewer first notices these quirks, the gag soon loses charm and just becomes annoying. When you see bad films you want to see a bad film. You don't want to see an obviously smart director and actors being led to intentionally look bad. They aren't over the top (until the final ten minutes or so of the movie) so they're just boring.
Another problem is the script. Tarantino is not a great director on a visual level seeing as most of the time he replicates the styles of great directors. What has always set Tarantino apart as an artist is his engaging dialogue. That's where Grindhouse is a disappointment of colossal proportions. There is very little action in Death Proof, which is good seeing as Tarantino isn't that good with action scenes, but the dialogue in the film is just boring. It's as real as it gets. No, seriously: the dialogue in this film is as entertaining as stalking an actual troop of girls. Only good dialogue comes from Kurt Russell during the first half, but then Tarantino butchers the appeal of that character in the second act. If you're not enjoying the dialogue of a Tarantino film it means something is going horribly wrong.
So congratulations to Mister Tarantino for successfully making the junk film he set out to make. No doubt this was an entertaining thing for him as a director, but as an audience member I was often bored with this film. The action is fun, but the final car chase goes on for far too long, but worse is that Tarantino's dialogue in Death Proof is just bland. There is nothing really working for this film. It could have been far better if Tarantino had made this a more exaggerated homage because as it is it's no different than the bad films it tries to poke fun at. Planet Terror managed to give that bad movie feel while taking its premise to such absurdity that it was hard not to be entertained by it. Death Proof on the other hand is so serious about being "bad" that it becomes just that.
As a story it is generic (as it should be) following a group of girls stalked by a man named "Stuntman Mike" (Kurt Russell)who drives a "death proof" retired stunt car. He stalks them, kills them with his car, then skips state to repeat the process elsewhere. He is a fun character speaking in a pleasant Southern drawl, passing himself off as a nice guy. Too bad he has little screen time compared to our three female protagonists who are boring as can be. I kept checking the clock wondering how long it would take these bimbos to become street pizza! After a bar sequence that seems to go on forever (where I have to admit, Tarantino's cameo as the manager is the second most entertaining aspect of this film right after Kurt Russell) I have to admit the stunts in this film really are remarkable. Stuntman Mike isn't joking about his set of wheels given that all the chases in this film are for real. When he talks about what a shame it is to have lost the old time values of using real cars and stuntmen over CGI crashes it really shows. Nothing can top the thrill of seeing real vehicles getting, smashed, slammed, and creating mayhem. No computer program can compare to live action.
After a thrilling stunt where Stuntman Mike kills a group of girls through a straight on collision (while Tarantino delivers the promised Grindhouse style gore) we are greeted to a cameo from by the cops from Kill Bill before moving on to the second act. This is where things really begin to fall apart. For the most part the second half seems a poor excuse to show off Tarantino's lead Kill Bill stuntwoman Zoë Bell's skill as she hangs for dear life on the hood of a car during a chase.
Like Kill Bill, Vol.2 the second half of this film is so different than the first that it seems to be something entirely different. Stuntman Mike who is an intimidating, soft-spoken stalker in the first half suddenly becomes an obnoxious over actor. Now I have no problem, because Kurt Russell hamming it up certainly was amusing for awhile, but it was very out of place given how calm his character was during the first half of the film. Over the top or serious Tarantino, you have to choose one or the other and stick with it! Speaking of the acting it really is a wonder as Tarantino, to preserve the concept of this being a junk film intentionally baits the cast to do stupid, amateur stunts such as looking directly into the camera for entire scenes at a time, breaking the fourth wall, and just being general hams. Nothing can be much funnier than a truly awful movie, but the film actually had to be completely unaware of how bad it is. Death Proof it is clearly intentional, and though this might be amusing when a viewer first notices these quirks, the gag soon loses charm and just becomes annoying. When you see bad films you want to see a bad film. You don't want to see an obviously smart director and actors being led to intentionally look bad. They aren't over the top (until the final ten minutes or so of the movie) so they're just boring.
Another problem is the script. Tarantino is not a great director on a visual level seeing as most of the time he replicates the styles of great directors. What has always set Tarantino apart as an artist is his engaging dialogue. That's where Grindhouse is a disappointment of colossal proportions. There is very little action in Death Proof, which is good seeing as Tarantino isn't that good with action scenes, but the dialogue in the film is just boring. It's as real as it gets. No, seriously: the dialogue in this film is as entertaining as stalking an actual troop of girls. Only good dialogue comes from Kurt Russell during the first half, but then Tarantino butchers the appeal of that character in the second act. If you're not enjoying the dialogue of a Tarantino film it means something is going horribly wrong.
So congratulations to Mister Tarantino for successfully making the junk film he set out to make. No doubt this was an entertaining thing for him as a director, but as an audience member I was often bored with this film. The action is fun, but the final car chase goes on for far too long, but worse is that Tarantino's dialogue in Death Proof is just bland. There is nothing really working for this film. It could have been far better if Tarantino had made this a more exaggerated homage because as it is it's no different than the bad films it tries to poke fun at. Planet Terror managed to give that bad movie feel while taking its premise to such absurdity that it was hard not to be entertained by it. Death Proof on the other hand is so serious about being "bad" that it becomes just that.