Film Review: Death Proof

Liverpool Daily Post

Death Proof (Cert. 18, 114 mins)
Stars: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoe Bell  
Directed by Quentin Tarantino

IF ANYONE other than Quentin Tarantino had made this film, it would have been a disaster.

There is too much inconsequential talk and only one big action scene.

But Tarantino – who also wrote it and takes a small role as a bartender – has a quirky sense of humour that makes this watchable even during some of the conversational longeurs.

Filmed to suggest one of those cheap exploitation movies of the 1960s and 1970s, it comes complete with scratches, jump cuts, a missing reel and risible opening credits announcing the feature film.

The plot, for what it is, concentrates on a stunt man (Kurt Russell) who has built a car which will survive any crash. He uses it to kill girls in cars.

The first half focuses on a group of girls who meet in a bar where they flirt, talk girly talk and generally hang out where Stunt Man Mike (as Russell’s character names himself) eyes them up.

They are all doomed to die in a crash involving flying body parts.

Another group of girls appear in the second half, but this is a tougher breed and they fight back.

This offers a grand car duel at great speed with one girl – real life stunt woman Zoe – sprawled across the car bonnet during the chase.

It is simplistic stuff, but written and directed with the sort of energy we have come to expect of Tarantino.

While it does not add up to much, it’s fun while it’s running on the screen.