Reservoir Dogs A film review by Joel B. Kirk
WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
Five strangers are assembled to pull off a diamond heist. Unfortunately, their robbery scheme ends up in a bloody ambush, and they realize that they have a police informer in their midst.
MY TAKE:
Reminiscent of the failed heist films like THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950), a film that would spawn imitators in BLOOD, GUTS, AND OCTANE (1998) and LOCK, STOCK, AND BARRELS (1998). However, it's almost a film of talking heads, with foul-mouthed characters exchanging banter in a warehouse for a period of time; you don't really don't care or like the characters. (The 'hero' of the piece, Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), is somewhat a cocky cop, in over his head, not realizing until the last moment what he is into).
The only character you feel sympathy for is the tortured cop, Martin Nash (Kirk Baltz), who, in a cringe-inducing scene gets an ear sawed off (shown off-screen) by the crazed Mr. Blonde (the very cool Michael Madsen), who listens to 'Stuck in the Middle with You' while doing so.
The tight storyline is brought out in a non-linear manner, which would become Quentin Tarantino's signature style of storytelling.
POSITIVE/NEGATIVE NITPICKS:
-Too much use of the 'n' word usage, particularly by the characters Mr.Pink (Steve Buscemi) and Nice Guy Eddie (Sean Penn).
-Alabama (Patricia Arquette's character from TRUE ROMANCE) is mentioned in Mr. White's introduction sequence; a Seymour Scagnetti is referenced in Mr. Blonde's introduction sequence, although in the film NATURAL BORN KILLERS, there is a Detective Jack Scagnetti portrayed by Tom Sizemore. Moreover, Mr. Blonde is named 'Vic Vega' possibly related to Vincent Vega in PULP FICTION.
FINAL COMMENTS:
It's an interesting piece on budgeted filmmaking and storytelling in limited space; however, you end up with a feeling like 'Er, okay. Next.'
MY RATING: *** out of *****
DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
WRITER: Quentin Tarantino
CAST: Harvey Keitel-Lawrence 'Larry' Dimmick Tim Roth-Mr. Orange/Freddy Newandyke Michael Madsen-Mr. Blonde/Vic Vega Chris Penn-Nice Guy Eddie Cabot Steve Buscemi-Mr. Pink Edward Bunker-Mr. Blue Quentin Tarantino-Mr. Brown Lawrence Tierney-Joe Cabot Kirk Baltz-LAPD Officer Marvin Nash
GENRE: Crime/Thriller
RUNNING TIME: 99 minutes
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1992 by Miramax Films
EMAIL: joelkirk@sbcglobal.net
Copyright 2003 Joel B. Kirk
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