SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
Inspired by the 60s and 70s racing and exploitation flicks, writer-director Quentin Tarantino arrives with his own spin to the genre by mixing slasher elements to it in the form of 2007's Death Proof! It's too easy to dismiss this as a cheap B-movie, but it's undeniably a solid entertainer levels above its outer appearance, all thanks to the esteemed creator!
Probably the biggest highlight would be the character Stuntman Mike played by Kurt Russell. He is absolutely terrifying in this role where he is an extremely dangerous predator! A deadly ghost, he drives a car that looks like death sentence, which he himself gives a fantastic verbal setup for! The actor's stellar performance as an A-grade creep, from tickling Abernathy's (Rosario Dawson) feet while she's sleeping to crying like a little child after being shot with a gun is amazing! The way he kills Pam (Rose McGowan) on the passenger seat followed by driving head-on the other girls is absolutely unbelievable, not to mention the screenstory recap on how the accident ripped each and every one of them apart adding another layer of phenomenal shock!
As usually expected, when you step into a Tarantino's picture, you're gonna get premium quality exclusive dialogues found nowhere else! The conversations between both batches of hot girls going on a road trip are freaking captivating no matter the topic of discussion, which also reveal character and move the plot while naturally allowing you to like and care for these characters, rightly so in order to render their later misfortunes impactful! Lap dance request, ditch regale and pre-making out deal are only a few samples! In many ways, it's a sexy film too as the writer-director cans the beauty of the actresses as is, including of course his beloved feet shots present extensively here!
The stunts are god-tier as the actors perform it themselves while everything's shot on camera! With the second batch of girls being stunt-ladies, the ship's mast spectacle followed by the unexpected aftermath is truly nerve-wracking! Final car chase and round beat-up are satisfying as hell too! Synth score and soundtrack choices are on point! Cinematography, color correction and flawed editing oozes the flavor of the era the story's supposed to exist! Random color change from black and white to color outputs certain scenes more menacing! The cast is sound overall and the actor who played the Sheriff with his unique accent is cool!