Planet Terror
Considered by most to be the more over the top half of Grindhouse, Robert Rodriguezâs effort sadly still doesnât live up to the more subtle and effective entry by Tarantino: Plot holes and lack of exposition clog up the film nearly from the beginning, starting with the confusing opening shootout at a military base (Did the U.S. soldiers actually WANT the virus to spread?). The grainy, jumpy grindhouse style has been perfected to a tee by Rodriguez, though at times it serves as a distraction, minimizing the impact of several key moments in the story, and the question of how two major characters who had been âleft behindâ knew exactly how and where to get to the military base towards the end leaves the viewer scratching his head. Then there is the lead hero character of El Wray: we are constantly told about what a âbadassâ he was in the past by the other characters, but weâre never given any crucial details as to how and why, or what exactly makes him such a âlegendâ. In addition, 5â9 Freddy Rodriguez, doing acrobatic leaps off the walls and shooting down zombies left and right (âI never miss.â) is totally wrong for the part. Despite sporting a pubic fuzz goatee, he looks all of 21 or 22 years old, and nothing like the hardened warrior everyone seems to regard him as, a severe case of miscasting. However, there are some pretty good things here: Rose McGowan as the heroine Cherry Darling is sexy, lovable, and, when she gets the machine gun attached to her amputated leg, fearsome, and one can see why the character has already become iconic little more than two years after the filmâs release; Marley Shelton brings her own healthy dose of sex appeal to the role of the bisexual doctor caught up in the action; Jeff Fahey and Michael Biehn as the BBQ cook and the sheriff (and also brothers) nearly steal the show at times, and itâs amazing how these two b-list stars who had the looks and charisma to be A-list lift several scenes into the realm of the highly watchable; Naveen Andrews as the scientist with a castration fetish is hard to get a handle on as either a good or bad guy, but still does a good job; Michael Parks in his now stock role of Earl McGraw remains strong; Tom Savini makes a welcome appearance as a bumbling, trigger-happy cop; and Tarantino himself provides a fun cameo as a soldier with rape on his mind. On the other hand, Josh Brolin underwhelms as usual, and Bruce Willis is pretty much wasted as the commanding officer of the platoon. Nonetheless, the over the top gore remains constant throughout the film, even as we question some of the story points that it happens under, and the bit where a little boy is handed a gun to protect himself and within 30 seconds winds up fatally shooting himself is one of the best laugh out loud moments of black comedy ever. Overall, a film that is at times confusing and unbelievable, but never quite boringâŚ
7/10