Stephen King Downright Hated Tarantino’s Most Iconic Flick: ‘Blah Movie’

Quentin Tarantino did not go to film school, he did not even graduate from high school – his only real teachers were the movies themselves.

In 1988, he wrote Reservoir Dogs, a crime thriller about criminals who gather in an abandoned warehouse after a botched robbery. Reservoir Dogs was released in 1992 and immediately put Tarantino's name in the history of cinema. Reservoir Dogs was followed by other hits – Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill – each of which became cult in its own way.

Stephen King Says Kill Bill is Dull

However, Stephen King disagrees with the cult status of one of these movies, speaking rather harshly about Kill Bill:

“The blah movie was Kill Bill. […] Kill Bill isn't a benchmark of awfulness like Mars Attacks! or Mommie Dearest, it's just dully full of itself.”

In an Entertainment Weekly article, the writer discussed movies that matter and movies that don't. According to King, Kill Bill doesn't matter because it's just dull, and even Uma Thurman, who the writer says is the film's best achievement, plays not a living person but a label, the Bride.

Kill Bill Does Spark Some Controversy

While Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction are standing firmly on the pedestal of Tarantino's best works, Kill Bill still evokes mixed reactions even among the director's fans. Some viewers feel that the grindhouse attraction, in which Tarantino devoted so much attention to recreating the style of Asian action films, Italian horror movies, and American exploitation flicks, left him with no time or energy for a coherent story.

The main character – Uma Thurman's Bride – is different in every scene, with a different character and a different set of skills. In fact, she is a collective image without any bright personal characteristics.

Kill Bill is Tarantino’s Love Letter to the Action Genre

However, another part of the audience has a polar opposite opinion. Quentin Tarantino has always loved and been inspired by action movies, as seen in both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. But he decided to dedicate the Kill Bill duology to his passion for action cinema.

A simple plot about a nearly dead assassin who decides to take revenge on all of her former colleagues is just an excuse for a series of incredible action scenes.

There are samurai action movies, kung fu, westerns and even anime: in Kill Bill Tarantino has collected an amazing and explosive mix of everything he loves so much. And it’s difficult not to notice this love.

Source: Entertainment Weekly