Written by Briah Krueger
Here we are movie junkies, we’ve hit the Tarantino express! This film, and our next one, we’ll be plunging into Quentin Tarantino’s violent and cunning world of cinema. And we’re kicking it off with one of his earliest films, the instant 1992 hit Reservoir Dogs.
I was quite impressed with the movie itself, but even more so when I found out that this was one of his first big films. This story is incredibly unique and crafted with such cleverness there’s no way you wouldn’t be captivated into this crafty world he’s brought to us.
Reservoir Dogs is a story about six guys who are complete strangers; each given an assigned colour as a code name – Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, and Mr. Brown. (Fun fact: Quentin Tarantino often makes brief appearances in his films; he’s Mr. Brown!)
They are directed to not tell anyone their real names or where they’re from. They’re also each given job to pull off a robbery. But, the robbery doesn’t go over smoothly, and that is our big question throughout the movie: what happened? Most of the movie takes place in a warehouse where the characters argue and try to figure out what went wrong and who’s still alive.
With a charming and charismatic cast, the acting in this film is so well done you can feel the characters pain, panic, and frustration. I was especially blown away by Steve Buscemi’s performance as Mr. Pink. He gave us such a fantastic portrayal of his character, and truly made you believe in the story. This film’s dialogue is witty, full of bantering, quick, and it’s smart (a common trait for Tarantino films).
Tarantino is a maker of violent masterpieces. It isn’t senseless violence (most of the time) though, it has an intelligence attached to it. Each act has a purpose and enhancement to the plot. He pushes the boundaries of violence in movies to make you feel empathy and some kind of connection to the characters he’s created. He drenched this movie with dramatic and intimate camera shots/transitions, blasted it with memorable and catchy music, and sprinkled in plot twists that will sneak up on you and blow your mind.
The very format of this plot is genius, Tarantino is known for his signature touch of layers, timelines, stories within stories, and flashbacks (and we love him for it). He also always delivers with a great soundtrack, which is a big plus. A soundtrack can often make or break a film.
There’s no doubt this is one of his best films, it is certainly more than worth the watch and I would love to watch it again. With everything above said, with great consideration, this movie has received an 8 out of 10.
A few things held me back from giving this film a 9. Not to say this movie isn’t amazing, I would highly recommend it if you’d like to explore Tarantino films or if you’re an action movie kind of person. There were two factors that made me give this movie an 8.
- I almost felt like the movie should have been longer. It’s running time is 99 minutes long, so around an hour and a half. And though that seems pretty decent for a movie, with its plot as the movie ended I felt a sense of dissatisfaction; like there should have been more.
- Not all the characters feel fully developed. A lot is going on with this story and there are a lot of questions to be answered, but it would have been nice to get a deeper look at each of the characters. Some I don’t even quite remember their backstories, or if they were mentioned at all. But then again, maybe this was his direction, or he didn’t want to spend too much time on characters that wouldn’t make a huge impact.
Don’t let these two comments lead you away from giving this movie a chance, it is a great film and I’m glad I watched it. I suppose with each movie we want something more but do give this movie a go if you’re into original plots, action, and witty characters.
The recipe for Reservoir Dogs is: Black suites & ties, cigars, toothpicks, tip money, and lots and lots of bullets.
And but of course, here is our scratch-off image from the 100 movie bucket list poster!
If you’re interested in getting this poster for yourself or another fellow movie lover you can find it on Amazon! There are also several posters like this one, such as: 100 Books Bucket List, and 100 Things to Do Bucket List. Let the 100 Bucket List Movie journey begin!
