Reservoir Dogs heralded the arrival of one of the single most cult-followed directors in movie history, Quentin Tarantino. With his 1994 masterpiece, Pulp Fiction and recent comeback with Kill Bill, Tarantino has solidified himself as one of the most colorful and talented film directors of our time. So was his debut film worth all the praise that has turned him into such a legend, with only four films under his belt? Almost.

Reservoir Dogs follows the story of a gang of strangers, con men, hired to commit a routine diamond heist, a simple job where nothing could go awry. Wrong. The robbery goes horribly askew and the surviving characters rendezvous back at a warehouse to figure out what comes next. Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) is trying to keep a wounded Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) alive, while Mr. Pink (Steve Buschemi) has managed to get back with some of the diamonds and is now convinced there is a rat in their midst. At the same time, Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), the film’s best and most charismatic character, shows up with a cocky demeanor and a kidnapped police officer tied up in his trunk.

The film begins in a coffee shop where the crooks are sitting around discussing Madonna and the etiquette of tipping. This scene sets the stage well, showcasing Tarantino’s ability at writing colorful, snappy dialogue, that resembles everyday conversation rather than forwarding the plot. From there, the film jumps forward to the aftermath of the heist, and takes the way of flashbacks to fill us in on what has happened.

The way Tarantino tells the story is unique. There are no sudden plot twists, because there’s virtually no plot to begin with. There are no protagonists, because these characters are villains without the depth of Coppola’s Corleone family. We aren’t really expected to care about what happens to them, just to stay and watch, so that by the time the dust has all settled on a field of blood, we aren’t left feeling remorse or sadness or even relief at what happens. More so, we are left feeling like, to an extent, justice was done, and poetic justice at that. Tarantino breaks the rules of modern cinema with such flair, that a happy ending would be a travesty in such a film.

The acting is solid and the cast is exceptional, but then, Tarantino always casts his movies impeccably. Michael Madsen, Steve Buschemi, Tim Roth, and Chris Penn give the strongest performances, and fit the roles with grace that says they were made to play gangsters.

The flaws in the film are those that, while the characters are entertaining, they’re entirely unbelievable, and lack any sufficient depth that is required for the audience to connect with them. Some characters are almost left out entirely for the duration of the film, and the only one who leaves any kind of an impression is Mr. Blonde, who is given enough screen time for us to actually form opinions of him, only to question those opinions later.
The movie also lacks in its screenplay after the opening scene in the coffee shop. Not that it’s entirely bad, but when it opens with such interesting dialogue, and then decides the rest of the film can mostly be reduced to the characters swearing and yelling at each other, it lessens the overall enjoyment of the film. Tarantino has proven he can write better, so it was a shame to see him decide not to showcase that.

If nothing else, Reservoir Dogs was a solid debut for Tarantino that foreshadowed the talents that would create the masterpiece that was Pulp Fiction.


This has been an entry into the Lean N' Mean 2 writeoff.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age