Reservoir Dogs (1992) – Originally written July 2003

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

JUST FOR SAFETY SAKE, ASSUME THERE COULD BE SPOILERS

It’s films like this that make life really worth living.

I watched Reservoir Dogs for the first time a few years ago & to this day, it is still one of the most stylish & amazing films of all time. This film has it all. This film has immense style, it has cleverly planned violence by about six bucket-loads & it has a wonderful script. I don’t know what it is about Quentin Tarantino that makes him such a genius, but with a history which includes this & Pulp Fiction, it’s no wonder that Kill Bill (both parts!) looks like being one of the best films of the last few years.

Only Tarantino could get some of the best actors of the time (Keitel, Roth & my all time favourite Buscemi to name just three) to dress in suits, have names like Mr. Pink & walk around shooting, kicking & swearing at each other.

Ironically for a film boasting such stars, the best scene in my view is the opener in the café in which one of the most vocal people is Tarantino himself. Talking firstly about Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” & then tipping, this scene seems random, but it introduces the characters personalities so well and so early that it’s blatant from the very start just how they all act. Some films spend practically the entire film trying to explain someones character, this film sums most up in the first five minutes. Brilliant.

Finally, there’s something else which makes this film truly magical. The soundtrack!

Any film which features not only “Little Green Bag”, but then Steelers Wheel’s “Stuck In The Middle With You” deserves credit.

Actually, I know I’d previously said “Finally”, but one thing worth mentioning is just how great it is to be able to watch a film which is only 95 minutes long. Over the last few days I’ve been going through a sort of film masterclass of sorts watching Fight Club, Apocalypse Now (now there’s a long film!) & others, but it’s so wonderful to watch a film that doesn’t take up an entire night.

So to summarise, a perfect length, perfect style, perfect soundtrack, perfect acting, perfect characterisation, perfect script, perfection in general.