Considered Tarantino's Masterpiece... Set a New Standard

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2008)

Quentin Tarantino presents his masterpiece: interwoven tales of a washed-up boxer, some bodyguards to powerful crime kingpin, and others who cross their path on this fateful day. Featuring an all-star cast: John Travolta in his best role (relaunching his dead career), Sam Jackson in his defining role (still trying to outdo himself fourteen years later), Christopher Walken, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth and more. (Many of these being Tarantino regulars, who work well with his idiosyncratic style.) How do I review a film so many people have praised, including my hero Roger Ebert? I could be a detractor and say its a bad film, but I'd be lying. I love the story and how it all plays out. I still prefer Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs", but this comes in a close second. (Sadly, I don't think he ever recovered after he became famous. Subsequent films -- "Jackie Brown", "Kill Bill" and "Death Proof" -- all have a certain charm to them, but are not close to being on the level of "Dogs" or "Pulp".) Although I've seen this movie, or at least bits of it, a dozen times, I think the most recent may be the most interesting. I watched it with a young woman who saw Bruce Willis and asked who he was. I said, "Bruce Willis." She asked who that was. I listed a few of his bigger films ("Die Hard", "Armageddon", etc.) but she said she had not seen them. How a woman in her 20s does not know Bruce Willis or any of his movies is beyond me, but it got me wondering: would "Pulp Fiction" be a different film if I didn't recognize the majority of the actors? Walken, for example, appeals to me because he's Walken. Would his monologue be as good if delivered by someone else or by Walken when I didn't know him by name? Curious thought.
If you haven't seen "Pulp Fiction", see it. Tarantino is a better writer than a director, but this film offers probably his best directing to date and some superb writing. He is very dialogue-intensive, which I think alienates some viewers (particularly in "Death Proof"), but give him a fair shake. This film defined the 1990s and continues to be influential in film today. Pay attention and you'll be sure to see why.