Stephen King Slammed This Quentin Tarantino Film as “Tepid” and “Narcissistic”
Stephen King has never been shy about sharing his opinions on movies, and his 2007 review of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 1 was particularly harsh.
Writing for Entertainment Weekly, King made it clear that he was unimpressed by the filmmaker’s fourth feature, calling it “tepid” and describing it as “pretty blah”.
King was especially critical of the movie’s jokes, action scenes, and overall tone. He compared some of the fight sequences to “an Esther Williams swim routine” and said the atmosphere was “dull”. He also took aim at movie critics, noting: “You probably saw some good reviews of it, possibly even in this magazine. Steve says don’t you believe it. Steve says you should remember that movie critics see movies free.”
“Also, they don’t have to pay the babysitter or spring 10 bucks for the parking. They’re thus apt to rhapsodise over narcissistic stuff like Kill Bill, which announces itself as Quentin Tarantino’s Fourth Film, ain’t we la-di-da.”
While King acknowledged Uma Thurman’s performance as the Bride, he argued that the character was more of a label than a person: “It’s just dully full of itself. Uma Thurman tries hard, and she’s the best thing in the movie, but in the end, she’s stuck playing a woman who’s a label instead of a human being: She is, God save us, the Bride.”
He also criticized the film’s ending, saying, “There’s not even an ending you can hang your hat on; we’re just told to stay tuned for more — more karate kicks and throws, more falsetto birdy-sounding battle cries.”
Still, King admitted that the film was not without merit. He noted, “It’s certainly well made, and the story garners some of our interest as it goes along,” but concluded that, ultimately, “dull is still dull, isn’t it?”
He summed up his dissatisfaction by writing, “All I’m doing here is trying to focus the feelings of vague dissatisfaction you’re apt to experience leaving this movie, the sense that you came to be entertained and instead found yourself warming your hands at the bonfire of Quentin Tarantino’s vanities.”
Despite King’s criticism, Kill Bill: Volume 1 was well received by many critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 85% approval rating based on 238 reviews, with an average score of 7.7 out of 10. Its consensus reads, “Kill Bill is admittedly little more than a stylish revenge thriller – albeit one that benefits from a wildly inventive surfeit of style.” Metacritic gives it a score of 69 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews, while audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it a B+.
Prominent critics praised Tarantino’s style and technical skill. A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, “While being so relentlessly exposed to a filmmaker’s idiosyncratic turn-ons can be tedious and off-putting, the undeniable passion that drives Kill Bill is fascinating, even, strange to say it, endearing. Mr. Tarantino is an irrepressible showoff, recklessly flaunting his formal skills as a choreographer of high-concept violence, but he is also an unabashed cinephile, and the sincerity of his enthusiasm gives this messy, uneven spectacle an odd, feverish integrity.”
Manohla Dargis of the Los Angeles Times called the movie a “blood-soaked valentine to movies” and praised Tarantino’s homage to cinema, even if she found the story less compelling. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a perfect score, saying, “The movie is not about anything at all except the skill and humor of its making. It’s kind of brilliant.”
Cultural historian Maud Lavin highlighted the appeal of the Bride’s character, noting that her quest for revenge allows viewers, especially women, to explore fantasies of personal aggression and empowerment.
While King was clearly unimpressed, Kill Bill: Volume 1 has left a lasting mark on popular culture, with its stylized action, iconic imagery, and the enduring figure of the Bride becoming a reference point in both film and media.
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