Reservoir Dogs (1992)
1992
R
99 Minutes
A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopath...
User Review
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WHAT I LIKED: 'Reservoir Dogs' is of course an intelligent and stripped-down thriller that aims to be gritty and exciting, but first and foremost - as is the case with virtually all of his subsequent pictures - it is a Quentin Tarantino movie. Yes, few writer/directors have ever managed to create such an unmistakeable style like this guy has, and what's even more striking than that is that it all started right from his get-go as this debut is every bit as "Tarantino" as one could possibly imagine.
What does that really involve? Well it's firstly a whole truck-load of influences and references to other movies (here the likes of 'The Killing,' and 'City on Fire,' take centre stage), and secondly the dealing of serious story and horribly bloody violence with an unshakeable flippancy and snappy-ness that keeps you smiling throughout and that in many ways brings out the worst in its audience as it gets them thoroughly invested and grinning ear to ear despite the horrors on display. In this case though it's always forgiveable given the sheer ballsy and arrogant brilliance of the filmmaking, and in the end, 'Reservoir Dogs' successfully puts its two-fingers up to expectations and equally does so fully in the knowledge that the audience are enjoying themselves far more than they really should be. The magnetic quality to this filmmaking is one that we'll see again from Tarantino, and even it hardly brings out the best in its audience, it certainly surprises them and always captivates them.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: This flippant approach does equally of course undo any chances of properly serious development or indeed the tackling of anything deeper than guilty surface enjoyment. Also, the movie references are rather direct and unrestrained...
VERDICT: Only Tarantino's ballsy and magnetic filmmaking can have you grinning to your ears as you watch one being sawn off, and therein lies many of the qualities and flaws of this and many of his subsequent films.0 member like this review.
