Reservoir Dogs (1992)
When you think you sound cooler than you really are.
Presentation:
Quentin Tarantino directs and stars in one of his earliest films. It has some DNA of Pulp Fiction with elements from his future signature style, but this film is quite unpolished and executed like a play. It feels quite low budget at 8 million despite the cast and his trademark violence, hand guns, driving through LA, conversing in diners and non-existent music. The pacing is a bit all over the place utilizing backstory that I didn’t care much for because of a weaker script. It’s too much stream of consciousness with characters stumbling and talking over one another. Some may find this charming, but it’s just too casual to its detriment compared to his future iconic engaging pop cultural conversations. Dialogue feels artificial with frivolous yelling and cursing for the entirety of the movie. It just tries a bit too hard with Tarantino literally chuckling at his own jokes in the background. Just a bit too self congratulatory considering it’s nearly a 1 to 1 copy of City on Fire.
Conclusion:
I struggle to rank this supposed masterpiece because I really didn’t enjoy the dialogue, but I think the plot has moments of greatness especially for its time when twists were considered revolutionary. There’s early brilliance, but by today’s standard, it lacks impact despite having novel storytelling. It’s very Tarantino, self-indulgent, unapologetic, singularly visualized. We love him, but this is one of his weaker films in his early career where let’s be honest, it’s at a point where he isn’t refined and thinks the dialogue sounds cooler than it really is.
Recommendations
One does not simply get revenge on Billy the Butcher.