|
To print: Click here or Select File and then Print from your browser's menu
-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from dtheatre.com, located at http://www.dtheatre.com/read.php?sid=2362. --------------------------------------------------------------
|
Review: Mike Clark's review of Kill Bill 2 By Charley, (DT) April 30, 2004 3:57 PM PT |
|
Review: Mike Clark's review of Kill Bill Vol. 2 Mike Clark, writing about Kill Bill Vol. 2 for USATODAY, begins his review with this line: "Yes, Uma sends new victims to their doom-a." It almost makes a reader wish the review had begun with a cliche. And it doesn't get any better when he goes on to rhyme "Thurman" with "vermin" in the very next line. The lack of structure in this review is its main problem and it leads to the question of What, exactly, is the point? Clark's attempt to be original raises more questions than are answered. Indeed, it seems as though he has given up plot in lieu of obscure, in-the-know references in this over-hyped, overblown review. Beside basic structure problems, Clark pens impossible scenarios that ask readers to sacrifice their good senses: "The spirit of Sergio Leone must be bowing its head in pride at 2's transparent homage, or demanding afterlife residuals from Tarantino's accountant." Willing suspension of disbelief is a necessary agreement between a reviewer and his readers, but to ask the audience to believe that spirits might need money in the afterlife is stretching that agreement beyond its logical limit. Yes, Clark attempts to inject some originality into his reviewing, like many other reviewers have done before him. There is a difference however, between originality and freshness. It is not my place, as a humble being, to say exactly where that distinction lies. It is clear, however, when that difference occurs in reviews. Because of the quality of reviewing that is being hyped in today's periodicals, the spirit of Pauline Kael must be pissed--something that spirits are quite capable of, according to several ghost experts. If you're looking for a lot of obscure references without a lot of substance, go read Mike Clark's review of Kill Bill Vol. 2. But, if you're like most people and you don't want to sift through the writing of someone who waxes intellectual about Tarantino movies, you may want to skip this review of that blockbuster movie. |
|