Intensity	Stupidity:Nudity Ratio 3:1	Budget High

Tarantino does it again. If Kill Bill was a tribute to Hong Kong movies, Deathproof plays the same role for another classic genre, the car flim. Chances are that you know already whether or not you will like this film. If you've seen Tarantino's work before, you know what to expect. If you liked Kill Bill 2 more than Kill Bill 1, you will like this movie. The pacing is very relaxed and we are drawn into the relationships of the characters without every really getting to know them. Early on one of the characters points to Rose McGowan's character, Pam, and says "did you hear what just happened to her?" but does not eloborate. This is Tarantino's way of telling us that there will be no backstory. You are not going to find out about any of the background of any of the characters. Oh, there is some minor bits and pieces, they went to high school together, Stuntman Mike mentions some shows he has worked on, but that is it. We never find out what motivates Stuntman Mike, where his scar came from, why Pam was alone, or what happened to Julia's date. All that matters is what is going on right now.

If you have not seen the movie yet, you may want to stop here. There are spoilers ahead.

As the movie starts we are introduced to the first set of girls, including Julia and Arlene who will get most of the early screen time. The girls are planning on spending the weekend alone with no boys at Shanna's dad's cabin, but first are going to hit a couple of bars. As is common in Tarantin's films his characters respect each other even if they don't really seem to like each other. The banter all has a bit of an edge to it, but never seems to be taken too seriously. Julia and her friends clearly have a long history and know each other well. We may not get any backstory, but that's okay because there is a ton of other information being thrown at you. Julia is trying to catch up with a potential boyfriend, Arlene is visiting from out of town and has met someone new but has not had sex with him yet, Pam is looking for a ride, and a couple of the other boys are plying the girls with drinks to try to get an invite to the cabin. Stuntman Mike weaves his way through all these different conversations without ever really fitting in or seeming too creepy. He says the right things to Pam and she accepts his ride offer. He calls Arlene's bluff on the Butterfly and lap dance thing and convinces her to go through with it. This scene was apparently dropped from the theatrical release most likely for time, it is not particularly graphic and not really necessary. It does, however, allow Tarantino to showcase some more rare music and start the change in tone for the movie. After hanging around in the bar for a while everyone is finally ready to head out to the cabin.

In the parking lot we are fully introduced to Mike's car which has been reinforced for stunt work, hence the movie's title. The car is designed to be crashed horrifically without killing the driver. Pam overcomes her misgivings and gets in the car only to find there is no passenger seat and thus no seatbelt. At this point the movie really starts to pick up and Pam is smashed around the inside of the car as Mike slams on the brakes eventually throwing her into the dashboard hard enough to kill her. Stuntman Mike the passes the girl's car goes up the road aways, turns around to head directly at them with his lights off.

At which point he collides head on with the girl's car killing them all instantly.

WTF!?! I was expecting at least a little cat and mouse with the cars. Maybe have Mike kill off a couple of the girls to let us know he is serious before having Julia kick some butt. But no. Forty-five minutes with these characters and poof, all gone. Okay, so if I would have been paying more attention I would have remembered that both Vanishing Point and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry ended with sudden unexpected car crashes and maybe been more prepared. But really I was lulled by the laconic pace on the first part of the movie and completely unprepared for the sudden violent end of the first segment. In fact, in just a couple more scenes we are in another state some 18 months later. And there is Stuntman Mike getting ready to do it again. And apparently so is Tarantino as we have some very similar (though much shorter) introduction scenes with the new girls.

Pretty soon, three of the girls are hitting the road in a 1970 Dodge Challenger. Zoe is riding on the hood. After an initial run in with Stuntman Mike that ends up with both cars on the side of the road, Mike taunts the girls only to have Kim shot him in the arm. Mike screams. At this point, the movie changes completely. Jason would not have blinked at this tiny little wound. Freddy would have made some snide comment. Officer John McLane would have grimaced and put a bandaid on it. But Stuntman Mike cries like a baby. Often in these type of hunter/hunted movies, there will be a turning point where the hunted becomes the hunter. Normally it is not so blantant, but Tarantino wanted to make sure you got the point. Mike is a coward. At the first sign of trouble, he backs down. That is why the initial set of girls died so quickly. He was afraid to put them in a situation where they could fight back. Now that someone is fighting back, Mike is off and running. The sudden change in Mike is giggle inducing. Soon you end up laughing and cheering the girls on as they chase down and beat the crap out of Stuntman Mike in a scene reminisinct of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. Then the movie ends.

A word about Zoe Bell. Zoe did most of the stuntwork for Zena, Warrior Princess before getting choosen by Tarantino for Kill Bill. After seeing the film Double Dare and then watching Terror Planet, I recognized a couple of her moves. Zoe really does not do a great job of acting in this film but does okay. She is clearly playing herself (her credit reads: Zoe Bell - Herself) and her personality comes through. At one point Zoe is thrown from the car and her friends are worried that she has been hurt. Zoe then jumps up in the brush on the side of the road saying "I'm okay" and bouncing back to the car. The decision to cast her in a speaking part must have been easy because her character spends about five minutes tied to the front of a moving car. The actress who gets that part has to be able to do the stunt or it won't work. Also Zoe cannot be introduced too soon. Her exuberence and engery would not have fit in the first segment at all. She is not shown on screen until after the other group two girls are seen because Tarantino wants us to think we are in for a replay. When the girls sit down in the dinner and start talking, the differences from the first group start becoming apparent and Zoe's character does not seem out of place.

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