Death Proof - Movie Review

In this Tarantino film, a typical serial killer a gets a twist; with a heavy dose of pure Detroit muscle. And bringing those two things together can only impress, correct? I sure think so.

Don't let Stuntman Mike drive ya home!

Death Proof is the 2007 Quentin Tarantino film starring Kurt Russell who plays Stuntman Mike, a Hollywood stuntman who follows around groups of girls and then kills them; though not with his bare hands, but with his car via collision... in which he survives. This is the second half of the Grindhouse Double Feature with the first half being Planet Terror by Robert Rodriguez.

We all know what we are going to get with Tarantino; very developed characters engaging in some very exquisite dialogue. We expect nothing less at this point in Tarantino's career and of course he brings it again and dominates it again. This film has some of the best dialogue I've ever heard. Quentin has always been knocked to never have female leads or at least key female characters. Well he struck that criticism down with Jackie Brown and later with the Kill Bill movies, and also does it again with this film but in an unique way. Both of those movies had female leads, strong ones I may add, surrounded with mostly male supporting cast. In Death Proof, Quentin has a male lead filled with a whole slew of females and makes the male the antagonist, which I think is brilliant because you can easily catch yourself in a situation where you actually might want to root for him instead of the girls he is stalking.

Another thing that impresses me is that Quentin is also the cinematographer of this film and you get to see what Quentin wants you to see and throws in some great subtleties as well. He has great techniques and uses some pretty awesome shots during this film, mainly when Stuntman Mike is on screen. The best use of the camera is in the second half of the movie when the second group of girls are eating lunch. Quentin panned the very long scene and had you feel like you were actually apart of the conversation. He does a great job as the director of photographer. What makes the dialogue in this movie stand out is that for the first time in a Quentin movie we are listening to a group of girls gossip and tell stories when we are used to in movies like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction when we are observing mostly male characters. I knew Quentin was good with dialogue, but seeing write these realistic conversations that these female characters have is truly a pleasure.

I'd hate to find myself in that position!

When it comes to the pace of the film, it tends to be between slow and moderate. But when you become engulfed in the dialogue, the speed of the film will not be an issue for the viewer. The tone of the film starts off very easy going, but when Stuntman Mike comes to the screen the tone suddenly moves to mysterious and scary. When the second half of the film begins, the second group of gals, we already we know what to expect to the mysterious tone is still with us and then the final act of the movie, the unbelievably exciting and tense car chase scene puts us to the edge of our seats and delivers us to a spectacular finish. When top car chase sequences come to mind, the end of this movie will be in the debate for greatest ever.

At the end of the day this film is very underrated and with the masterpieces the Quentin has made, this one will unfortunately will be left at the waist side. It is your typical Quentin film with few twists and turns from his tradition, but all in all you will get what he has given you in every film he's made and that is an action pact thrill ride with a satisfying ending.

8 out of 10.
A must see.

For my good buddy Dan the Man's Planet Terror movie review, the first half of Grindhouse, please click here. Be sure to visit his page http://dtmmr.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.