I hoped onto the Tarantino bandwagon a little late. The first movie of his that I saw was Kill Bill, and it immediately won me over. The style shined through with the use of music, violence, and a well written script. So, considering how much I enjoyed his recent theatrical release, I figured I would love his first film as well.

I didn't.

Reservoir Dogs was nothing but a disappointment. Perhaps my expectations were set too high since I had been told time and time again that is was a masterpiece. I didn't see a masterpiece. What I saw was a whole lot of unnecessary gore and foul language used to cover up a mediocre movie.

The Plot

The best attribute of this movie was its pacing, jumping from past to present, entangling us in the storylines of each of the characters. Since the outlining of the plot is the only bright spot, I won't spoil it by detailing how things developed. Instead I'll go over the basic idea.

Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Blond (Michael Madson), Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino), and Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker) have been hired by a local mobster (Lawrence Tierney) to pull a heist on a jewelry store. They're given code names to protect their real identities in what seems like a well put together plan. Things don't go very smoothly however when a barrage of police show up at the scene. Getting to their warehouse hideout, the old time crooks try and figure out what went wrong, and which one of them may have been a snitch.

The story certainly is intriguing, and it's different to say the least. But it's just not solid. It builds up to an ending that leave you wanting more (and not in a good way). Some scenes just seemed unnecessary too, and didn't really contribute to the storytelling. It's not a conventional narrative, and at times the movie suffered for it.

The Acting

With such a great list of actors, I expected to see some amazing performances. Unfortunately I was let down. While the actors seemed like they were giving it their all, most of the performances were average at best. Tim Roth spends most of his time on the floor, delivering his lines trough the pain of a bullet wound. There's nothing particularly bad about his performance, it's just not up to par with his other work.

Steve Buscemi has another overrated role. While he's good for the occasional comic relief simply by the nature of his looks and his style, it wasn't anything special. Michael Madson's character was the "quite psycho", essentially giving him a free pass to phone one in. He really only shines in one scene where he is torturing a police officer, but I would give more credit to Tarantino for that since it was the mood more than the performance that was great.

I will give credit where credit is do however. Harvey Keitel did a fantastic job throughout the movie. Which is good, because the story mostly rests on his shoulders.

The Action

A lot of folks (especially the younger crowd) say that Tarantino is a genius in his representation of real style violence. Some folks say he just throws in a lot of cuss words and blood for shock factor. While usually I'm somewhere in the middle, I have to go with the later as far as Reservoir Dogs in concerned. The violence didn't help move the story along, instead it felt out of place. I'm not looking for a PG representation of a gang of crooks, but it seems like the script was littered with obscene content for the sake of obscene content.

Overall

If I had to use one word to sum up this movie it would be disappointment. Unfortunately the hype surrounding it definitely impacted my opinion. If you take Reservoir Dogs for what it is, a so-so movie that relies on violence to make up for it's lack of detail in the plot, then you can enjoy it as a 2 hour thrill ride with a few twists and turns.

But if you're looking for a brilliant masterpiece on film, look elsewhere. You're just going to be disappointed.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age