MC's take on "Jackie Brown"

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2008)

Jackie Brown: "Well, I've flown seven million miles. And I've been waiting on people almost 20 years. The best job I could get after my bust was Cabo Air, which is the worst job you can get in this industry. I make about sixteen thousand, with retirement benefits that ain't worth a damn. And now with this arrest hanging over my head, I'm scared. If I lose my job I gotta start all over again, but I got nothing to start over with. I'll be stuck with whatever I can get. And that sht is scarier than Ordell."
Jackie Brown is the name of a flight attendant who gets caught smuggling her boss' gun money on the airline she works for. Luckily for her, the Fed Ray Nicolet and the LA Cop Mark Dargus decide to team up in order to arrest the arms dealer she works for, whose name they don't even know. Here's when she has to choose one way: tell Nicolet and Dargus about Ordell Robbie (the arms dealer) and get her freedom -except that if Ordell suspects you're talking about him, you're dead- or keep her mouth shut and do some time. That's when she meets Max Cherry -her bail bondsman-, a late fifties, recently separated, burnt-out man, who falls in love with her. Then Jackie comes up with a plan to play the Feds off against Ordell and the guys he works with -Louis Gara and Melanie Ralston, among others- and walk off with their money. But she needs Max's help. No one is going to stand in the way of his million dollar payoff...
I liked Quentin Tarantino better when he's borrowing concepts and ideas from other films and making it uniquely his own. Just kidding. I still dig this film even though there's no flashy editing and the style is lesser than the substance. I don't know, I guess QT's magic works better if he's homaging movies after movies (ie, Kill Bill 1 and 2, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction) This time around, Tarantino worked his way around an engaging script, a stellar cast and amazing acting courtesy of lead Pam Grier as the titular character, Samuel L. Jackson as Ordell and believe it or not, Chris Tucker's performance was hilariously amazing. Even though his character never did see the end of the film, jousting cuss words with Samuel L. Jackson is no easy feat. John Travolta's Vincent Vega was annihilated by Jules' "Superfly TNT, the Guns of Navarone!" and even the snakes pised their pants with Sam's "I'm tired of this motherfn snakes on this motherfn plane!" Like in any other film by Quentin Tarantino, the script is more than amazing. It was engaging, satisfying and genuine. From the quirky one liners to Samuel L. Jackson's holier than thou cussing, this film is as real as you can get. Real characters dealing with real situations with real outcomes.
People who bash Quentin a lot should learn a thing or two from this film. He's not all that copycat director you make him to be. He's just a guy who's seen a lot of films during his video store clerk days and loved it so he pays tribute to it by making films. This one however is a step out his usual norm and I must say, he still nailed it. This is why QT is one of my favorite directors out there.