Death Proof (2007) Movie Review

[WillRiker]

Movie Title: Death Proof (aka Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof)

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Rated: Finland:K-18 / Australia:MA (2007) / UK:18 / USA:R / Sweden:15 / France:-12 / South Korea:18 / Hong Kong:IIB / Hungary:18 / Norway:15 / Singapore:M18 (cut) / Portugal:M/16 / Australia:MA / Italy:VM14 / Germany:16 / Ireland:18 / Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Genre: Crime

Runtime: 114 Minutes

Viewed: On The TV Screen

Trailer:

MTW presents yet another YouTube - Death Proof Trailer (Best Version) video

Synopsis: Death Proof, a throwback to the 1970s exploitation road-chase movies, features Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike, a former Hollywood stunt race car driver who targets and kills women with his "death-proof" stunt car. In Act I, Mike surfaces in Austin, Texas to target a group of women whom he knows; Jungle Julia (Sydney Poitier) an outgoing, dope-smoking, radio DJ/fashion model meeting her old school friends for a night on the town whom are sentimental model Arlene (Vanessa Ferlita), and local bad-girl Shanna (Jordan Ladd), as well as bar-nut hippie Pam (Rose McGowen) who tries to make Mike notice her, unaware of his sociopath and misogynist tendencies. In Act II, Stuntman Mike surfaces in Tennessee where he randomly picks another another group of women to stalk all of whom work in the motion picture business; Abernathy (Rosario Dawson) is a make-up girl and stand-in wanting a chance of pace in her life. Lee (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is a naive B-movie actress. Kim (Traci Whoms) is a tough-minded stunt woman always wanting action. And Zoe (Zoe Bell) is a fellow stunt woman from New Zealand visiting her friends. However, the second set of girls proves more though to get, and because of a combination of bad luck and Stuntman Mike's carelessness, the girls decide to turn the tables on their tormentor for revenge of their own

Opinion: This was originally theatrically released alongside Planet Terror under the title Grindhouse and was intended to be a double bill like back in the 60's and 70's but so few people actually "got it" that they were leaving the cinema as soon as Planet Terror was over.

So subsequently they have been re-issued as two separate movie and for this part of it, it really depends on your opinion of Tarantino and his movies, plus if you get the joke of this movie. It's intended to be a throw back to the old B-Movies of the 70's and therefore has film scratches and sound clicks overlaid on the print of the movie to give it that sense of a cheaply made movie..when in fact it isn't.

It does kind of lose it's way some though at the half way point when it goes in to black and white for about 5 minutes then when it clicks back in to colour all the scratches and such vanish giving the impression that we're bang up to date when in fact the second part of the movie is set only 14 months or so after the first half of the movie.

So while the story is very basic..it's a revenge movie of sorts done in Tarantino style, it does boast an impressive cast and lots of eye candy wearing short shorts for the men including Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Jordan Ladd & Vanessa Ferlito to name but a few.

Overall I enjoyed the movie, Kurt Russell was on top form as the creepy Stuntman Mike, and it kept me wanting to watch to find out what happened in the end, but truthfully I far preferred Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror part of the show which I watched separately and will review separately.

One to watch if you're a Tarantino fan, but if you aren't, then I don't think you'll get much from this one, and if you don't get the B-Movie joke then you'll be even more lost.


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