Planet Terror tries too hard…

Just saw the second of the “Grindhouse” movies, Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. Living in France, I got to see the movies as two separate releases rather than the combined double-feature the directors intended. For the un-initiated, Grindhouse was originally released as a double feature, along with four trailers for non-existent movies, designed to recreate the atmosphere of a double-bill evening at a B-movie theater (a grindhouse, hence the name). When this concept tanked at the US box-office, they decided to split the movie in two, releasing Tarantino’s Death Proof first to raise momentum for the Rodriguez movie. Judging by people around me, the first movie didn’t do so well, so I don’t think the second will make a killing either.

I have to say I personally LOVED Death Proof. I am a bit of a B-movie fan myself (though I’d call myself a “casual” fan compared to some of my friends), and Death Proof pushed just the right buttons, referencing exactly the kind of movie I like. Seeing Planet Terror after it proved to be a disappointment. While I’d hardly call the film bad (in fact, it’s quite entertaining) I didn’t come out with that incredibly giddy feeling I got after Death Proof (I couldn’t stop thinking or talking about that movie for two days). The main problem, I think, comes from the two different approaches: Tarantino goes for a subtle treatment, making what is unmistakably a Tarantino movie while paying homage to his beloved genres (and not in an over-stylized Kill Bill vein, either). Rodriguez, on the other hand, goes for all-out fireworks, taking every genre cliché and blowing it out of proportion, making it sometimes look more like a parody than a tribute.

One aspect illustrates this perfectly: both directors decided to “deteriorate” the film reels, giving the movies the scratchy, decaying feel of original grindhouse movies, complete with jump cuts and de-synchronized soundtracks. While Tarantino does this with finesse, hardly allowing it to obscure what’s going on on-screen, Rodriguez goes at it with childlike glee, totally messing up parts of the movie (at one cringe-inducing moment, interrupting a steamy sex-scene with a strategically placed “missing reel”).

While there are moments of witty dialogue, extremely funny scenes, and some rather likeable characters (not to mention GORGEOUS women), it just gets too over-the-top at times. I think in its original context, this movie would have worked well, providing the madcap first-act and allowing Tarantino to finish up with a classier conclusion. As it is, the reshuffled release does this film a disservice.

Note that of the four fake trailers, only one made it to the European shores: Machette, shown just before Planet Terror. I had already seen all four (thank heaven for YouTube) and this was easily the best of the bunch. It looked great on the big screen.