A Tiresome Tarantino Parody, By Quentin Tarantino
After the hilariously campy halftime trailers by Eli Roth, Edgar Wright, and Rob Zombie ("Werewolf Women of the SS!"), the fun comes to a thudding halt. Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof attempts an odd deconstruction of the streamlined seventies car chase film (Vanishing Point is quoted again and again) and fails miserably. Like Steven Soderbergh's recent crack at resurrecting the international noir with The Good German, Death Proof is misguided and awkward.
Kurt Russell in Death Proof
Tarantino doesn't deliver on his own premise. In a proper grindhouse movie, absolutely anything goes--except for the one terrible taboo you must never break: whatever you do, never bore the audience. Rodriguez' insane onslaught of genre mayhem would be a tough act to follow for anybody, but Tarantino dials the excitement way down. Instead of exploding zombie heads, we're suddenly watching four nearly indistinguishable women talking endlessly about sex and drugs without ever establishing anything like credible or likable characters--which would be ok if they were at least funny. But QT's dialogue isn't half as hip or cool as he clearly thinks it is, and stretches of Death Proof feel like a tiresome Tarantino parody, or worse, bad Kevin Smith.
Eventually, Kurt Russell shows up at an Austin bar. He calls himself Stuntman Mike, but it takes a long time before he does any stunts. Love messages are texted and received, Robert Frost is quoted, and what should have been a slam-bang opening to establish a psycho killer in a muscle car is stretched beyond recognition. Finally, there's a car crash, followed by lots more tough talking, coming from four other women (including Rosario Dawson.) Then there's a drawn-out car chase, and later, someone gets their face punched. The end. There's not a single interesting moment in Death Proof.
Here's my advice: see Planet Terror for the mad splatter, stay for the halftime trailers, and then do yourself a favor and walk out after Eli Roth's Thanksgiving ("This year, there will be no leftovers!") Planet Terror is a great bad movie; Death Proof is just plain bad. I'm sure Quentin would be the first to tell you that nobody can be expected to hang around for an entire double feature at a real grindhouse.
Planet Terror: ****
Death Proof: *
Overall: ** 1/2
