|
Advertisement |
Overall Rating
  Awesome: 77.98%
Worth A Look: 10.71%
Average: 5.36%
Pretty Bad: 1.79%
Total Crap: 4.17%
4 reviews, 144 user ratings
|
|
| Reservoir Dogs |
by Chef ADogg
"Is 'Badass' one word or two?"
|
Well, it really doesn't matter how you spell it, 'cause the essence of "badass" can't really be put into words. There's no single thing that classifies a piece of work as badass--it is a certain feeling, a certain texture. "Reservoir Dogs" is all about what makes badass so deliciously bad.More than a movie, "Reservoir Dogs" is a crazy-quilt collection of great shots and funny bits, which are strung together by the mad vibes that eminate from it all. It's the rare piece of pop art that stands on its own two legs, staring you down and veritably daring you to call it "self referential."
Cribbing a patchwork narrative structure from Kubrick's "The Killing," and adding his own inimatable personal touch, Quentin Tarantino lays the cinematic smack down so forcefully that when tempers erupt and pistols flare, you can smell the gunpowder shooting off all around you.
A simple little film gussied up with clever touches, "Reservoir Dogs" works best on its lowest level--a witty fractured fairy tale about a good robbery gone bad and the relationships that are laid bare in the aftermath.
That this package comes equipped with gem upon gem of quotable lines and plenty of the ole ultraviolence to keep the kids glued is just a boon.
The reason I love Tarantino is that he's a pulp fanatic at heart and he's not afraid to let that show. "Reservoir Dogs" is rough, spotty, and the seams are in constant danger of ripping completely, but QT was smart enough to pack some soul in the stuffing. It's nothing but lucky coincidence that his soul consists not of Hallmark sentiment but of bullet riddled, bad boy Blaxploitation fantasies.
In his own mind, QT is the ultimate "bad nigga," and he splays his dreams all across the canvas of this film. Not since Hitchcock gave Cary Grant free license to bitchslap his way through any number of films have I seen a director so unafraid of pinning his own desires on the shoulders of his characters.
The cheap thugs that the film centers around are all essentially the same person, with indentical weaknesses and attitude problems. "Reservoir Dogs" shows them as falling apart because they lack dimension, and that's where Q shows his depth.
They're smart enough to pull off any number of robberies but too immature to stay "professional" and simply coexist for a few hours after things take a bad turn. So you know that T sees the weakness in his fantasy life. A little injection of reality, to keep things from getting too heady.
The fact remains that, as Hitchcock did with Grant and Stewart, Tarantino takes the pimp out of his unpretty, utterly *white* body and shoots it into his characters.
Using film as a conduit for your innermost desires can be satisfying, but that don't mean shit if your films aren't gold. And "Reservoir Dogs" is just that--it comes so close to toppling off the edge that you're at once thrilled by the story and characters and the fact that it manages an ending.
"Reservoir Dogs" is a big, gnarly experience that stays coherent throughout--the low budget, cheap feel, and overall esthetic craft suggest art film, but Tarantino wraps this fine package in the paper of pure entertainment.Truly badass.
 del.icio.us 
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=1171&reviewer=123
originally posted: 10/08/99 13:32:05
![[printer]](/images/icon/printer.gif) printer-friendly format
|
 |
USA
02-Jul-1992 (R)
DVD: 24-Oct-2006
UK
N/A
Australia
02-Feb-1993 (R)
|
|
Articles 
subscribe to this feed
![[AllPosters.com]](/images/icon/ap.gif){kind=icon}
