A script and character triumph unashamedly wrapped in glorious nonsense.

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2013)

When this film came out all I remember is that it was 'the' go to film for all things cool.
The plot wasn't a surprise as the trailers pretty much gave everything away but the decade was still buzzing from Tarantino fever and after the superb 'Desperado' the teaming of Robert Rodriguez and his screen writing chum doing a film about vampires was too much pull for a 17 year old me.
I can say without a doubt that it is a classic. Maybe not in the sense of Casablanca or Raiders Of The Lost Ark but as a style film it really can't be touched.
Tarantino's screenplay drips with wit and humour as well as the usual taboo subjects thrown into everyday conversation and Rodriguez direction compliments this. Both men have made 'looking tacky' an art form when it comes to film and this heavily works in it's favour because we want it to feel sleazy and a bit dirty. Rodriguez has made some right stinkers in his time but in this era he was what I consider to be a proper fimmaker with no CGI and not much of a budget which pushes directors to be as creative as possible.
The cast is about as good as it gets. George Cloony, who audiences were used to seeing as a respectable Doctor on the hit Series ER does a complete character 180 into the superb Seth Gecko a character with all the moral fibre of a rock and the patience of a 5 year old. He tears into the script like a hungry dog which showcases whole new side to Cloony's acting and who could forget 'that' tattoo, a tiny detail which really brought the visual impact of the character to life and has since been copied many times but back then it was a striking feature. It's probably safe to say that this film was a game changer for Cloony who gained new respect for such a radical change but sadly hasn't really done much else that comes close.
As a few people have mentioned this is really two films in one, the first being a superb crime drama which sees the Gecko boys escape over the border with a kidnapped family, and the second is pure schlock nonsense and I am totally fine with that.
Maybe it was the teenager in me when I saw this but nothing could make me or my pals smile more than a bit of blood, guts and vampires interlaced with ridiculous humour.
Some say the vampire section brings the crime thriller down but I think the thriller part raises the profile of what is already a really cool film.
So many people go by formulas, right ways to do things and rules. Where art is concerned and this includes film, music etc. there can only be guidelines and it's great to see a bunch of people making a film the way they want to make it and that means throwing whatever off beat, off topic nonsense they feel like into the mix just because they simply think it would be cool.
A superb and sleazy trashcan of a movie that's not afraid to play with childish notions because it knows it's a cut above most film snobs polished favourites.