Review: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

So yeah, the other, while bogged down with a viral infection that left me practically bedridden, I decided to finally watch Reservoir Dogs.

And it was awesome.

As Quentin Tarantino's first film as a director, the film obviously isn't as precise as say, Pulp Fiction or the Kill Bill duology, but that gives the film a ramshackle charm all its own. It's also possibly his most 'vulgar' film, as all the characters spout some coarse language and jokes throughout the film. Of course, this doesn't take away from the film, but rather helps establish the dirty, crass world the characters inhabit. From the opening faux-Freudian monologue dissection of Madonna's Like a Virgin, to the over-the-top Gay Bravado between Michael Madsen and Chris Penn's characters, the screenplay is always bubbling and fizzing with a fascinatingly sharp wit that Tarantino is gifted with, being able to drop references from things as different as Charles Bronson to Marvel Comics, all while flowing together seamlessly.

He also directs the film with confidence, with all his actors giving grade a performances, especially Kietel, Roth, Buscemi and Madsen. The editing and use of music is of course, perfection, perfectly highlight and complementing and contrasting the violence and action.

Tim Roth's character exhibits both a sense of being very aware of everything, while also being somewhat inexperienced and unsure of himself, without coming across as some sort of wide eyed boy.

Harvey Kietel comes across as the more weathered, yet still fatherly kind of criminal, and his banter with the high strung Steve Buscemi is wonderful. His mentorship towards Roth isn't forced, nor is it heavy handed, and instead relies on purely visual cues to inform us of it.

Steve Buscemi is my favorite in the movie, going from the smug-yet-likable man who refuses to tip, to the neurotic train wreck who screams about professionalism. And he does it perfectly.

Michael Madsen is so creepy as Vic Vega, a man who at first seems to be a stoic, if likable guy, whose then revealed to be a demented, cold hearted sociopath who slices the ear off of a cop for the kicks, and then proceeds to attempt setting him on fire for amusement. All while dancing and signing to Steelers Wheel's Stuck in the Middle with You.

The rest of the cast, from slacker with hidden competence Chris Penn to Lawrence Tierney's crabby mob boss all play their parts brilliantly, and the chemistry makes the film crackle and fizz to life.

I give it a five out of five