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You know, I just realized something: I sure do talk a lot about Quentin Tarantino on this website.
I’ve already talked about his best movie (psst, It’s Pulp Fiction), why The Hateful Eight doesn’t get the credit that it deserves, and why I much prefer Kill Bill Vol. 2 to Kill Bill Vol. 1. I’ve even talked about Django Unchained, and his first picture, Reservoir Dogs. Honestly, the only films of his that I haven’t talked about yet are Jackie Brown, Inglourious Basterds, and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
Oh, and I also haven’t talked about his “worst” movie, Death Proof. I mean, that’s what everybody says, right? That Death Proof is Tarantino’s “worst” movie. In fact, in our ranking of all of Tarantino’s films, we put it at dead last. That said, IS it really Tarantino’s “worst” movie? Well, let’s talk.
I Hesitate To Use The Word “Worst” For Any Quentin Tarantino Movie
In the article I mentioned earlier ranking Tarantino’s films, my colleague Eric Eisenberg did indeed put Death Proof at the bottom of his list, but he also said: “Death Proof may be the lowest ranking title on this list, but don’t get it twisted – it’s a fantastic film. It just also happens to be the weakest Tarantino movie.”
I agree whole-heartedly. Because quite frankly, I’m not comfortable with calling any Tarantino film his “worst,” as all of them are good; even his “weakest” movie. Yes, I know, that’s a cop out. By definition, if I’m going to say that Pulp Fiction is Tarantino’s “best” film, then something HAS to be his “worst”, right? Well, to that I say, only a Sith deals in absolutes, and I’m no Sith.
Okay, fine. You got me. I really do have to explain this, don’t I? Well, I’ll first say that there’s a lot that I like about Death Proof…and also something that I really don’t like. In a switcheroo of sorts, let me start off by talking about what I don’t like about the movie: It’s the pacing.
Quite frankly, it’s terrible! In my article about Reservoir Dogs being the perfect debut, I talk about Tarantino’s “witty banter.” Dialogue has always been one of Tarantino’s strong suits – Except, that is, when it comes to Death Proof, as the talking just goes on and on for what seems like forever! I swear, the first time I saw this film, I literally groaned in the theater and audibly wondered, “When is Kurt Russell going to get here?”
Upon a repeat viewing, it somehow feels even LONGER. It takes so long for “Stuntman” Mike (Kurt Russell) to finally appear, kill his victims, and then for the movie to move onto NEW characters that it doesn’t even feel like a Tarantino movie at times. In this way, it just isn’t as fast-paced or as satisfying as say, Django Unchained, or as interesting as a Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. It all just feels… lesser. But that’s the bad. Now let’s talk about the good!
For Example, Can We Please Talk About What A Creepy Presence Kurt Russell Plays In This Film?
I got a few chuckles in the theater when I made that admittingly annoying query of when Kurt Russell would finally arrive in the film, but a part of me thinks that I was speaking for the audience since I remember people yawning and rubbing their eyes during Death Proof.
Granted, this was after just watching a full movie in Planet Terror, and then laughing at some fake trailers, as Death Proof was originally the second film in the double feature flick Grindhouse, but still! The movie was just straight-up boring.
That is, of course, until Kurt Russell enters the film. Because Russell can honestly do no wrong. As soon as he arrives as the thoroughly creepy “Stuntman” Mike, the movie picks up almost immediately. Arriving in the story to receive a free lap dance, you get “eww” vibes the moment he arrives. I think it’s how the characters react around him that makes it effective, as they’re all mostly very suspicious of him.
This works in the movie’s favor, as the film goes from being a chat-a-thon to feeling like a horror movie all of a sudden, and it’s thrilling when Mike makes his first kill. Then… we get some more talking from some other characters, and the film kind of dips again. But whenever Kurt Russell is on the screen, it’s great stuff.
I Also Really Dig Just How Grindhouse This Movie Actually Feels
As I already mentioned, Death Proof originally began its life as the movie that Planet Terror passed the baton to in 2007’s Grindhouse. I do like that the film does indeed feel like a grindhouse film. In that way, Tarantino definitely got the assignment right. That’s because grindhouse movies, which are also often known as exploitation films, usually did tend to fill in runtimes with meandering dialogue.
Sure, some of the better grindhouse films, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Cannibal Holocaust, somewhat elevated the medium and didn’t have to rely on so much talking, but a lot more less memorable grindhouse films did, and I think Tarantino was working in that lane.
He succeeds with that! In truth, I know Tarantino was the bigger name than Robert Rodriguez (who is honestly just as legendary, if you ask me), but I think Death Proof should have preceded Planet Terror rather than the other way around. I think the reception of Death Proof would have been much better if it didn’t come after the arguably more interesting Planet Terror, but that’s some revisionist history on my part.
Watching Death Proof as its own movie, which I’m sure most Tarantino fans do since it’s a slim 86 minutes rather than a whopping 191-minute double feature, does actually benefit it as being a playful homage to grindhouse flicks of the ‘70s, so that’s a positive, too. It works!
Plus, That Car Chase Scene At The End Is Second To None
The thing about a lot of grindhouse movies is the payoff. Yes, you might have to sit through a lot of boring stuff, but if at the end, there’s some really cool make-up transformation or lots of explosions and violence. Then it can definitely feel like a worthy watch.
Remember, grindhouse movies were typically low budget affairs that pandered to a certain demographic of grown-ups who were not looking for high art. They were mostly looking to be shocked and maybe even see some nudity. There’s a reason why some of these movies have “ploitation” (blaxploitation, sexploitation, nunsploitation, etc) as their suffix.
Well, being that Grindhouse actually played in regular theaters and not grindhouse theaters, Rodriguez and Tarantino could only go so far when it came to their “ploitation.” But Tarantino did do one hell of a job with that final chase scene at the end of Death Proof, in which Zoe Bell rides on the hood of a car in a game that she likes to call, “Ship’s Mast.”
The chase scene between the women and Kurt Russell is really enthralling, and it’s honestly worth all of the “boring” lead-up to it.
It’s also unlike anything else in Tarantino’s filmography, making it feel uniquely special when going through his other nine films (and I’m still upset that The Movie Critic won’t be his tenth flick, but I’ve already ranted about that). In that way…
It Might Be My Least Favorite Tarantino Film, But I Still Wouldn’t Call It His “Worst”
My biggest complaint about Death Proof is that I don’t LOVE it, and I love all of Tarantino’s movies, EXCEPT Death Proof, of course, which I just LIKE.
Now, “just liking” something isn’t bad! I “just like” chocolate ice cream. I “just like” the later Indiana Jones movies (I even defended Crystal Skull!). But that doesn’t mean chocolate ice cream is “the worst” ice cream I’ve ever had. It doesn’t mean that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is “the worst” Indiana Jones movie I’ve ever seen.
No, if I like something, I like it, and, I like Death Proof! It’s just that if I’m going to have a Tarantino marathon where I go through every one of his movies, I might fast-forward a bit of Death Proof, whereas I wouldn’t do that for any of his other films.
It’s for this reason that I wouldn’t call it Tarantino’s “worst” movie (how can I when it has Kurt Russell in it?), but I will say that it’s my least favorite. But what do you think? Are you more comfortable with calling Death Proof dog water than I am? I’d love to hear your thoughts!