Remarkable second feature from Quentin Tarantino - a masterpiece of dialogue, style and sheer story-telling chutzpah.

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2014)

For better or for worse, Pulp Fiction changed forever the cinematic landscape of its time, not to mention times thereafter. It was followed by a deluge of copycats and wannabes, none of which quite matched the staggering bravura of this film – we really are talking here about a movie which epitomises that old dictum "the original and still the best". In this nonlinear trilogy of gangland stories – stuffed to the brim with crackling dialogue, pop culture references, stylised gunplay and jet black humour – Quentin Tarantino delivers an audacious and endlessly watchable movie, at once rewriting and redefining the whole style of the crime genre.
The first story deals with hit men Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) as they track down a briefcase full of 'something valuable', stolen from their boss Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) by a group of young opportunists. Later that evening, against the advice of Jules, Vincent escorts Marcellus's wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), on a dinner date which spirals out of control with almost tragic consequences. The second story follows down-at-heel boxer Butch (Bruce Willis) who has been bribed by Marcellus to throw a fight. Butch doesn't keep his end of the bargain, pummelling his opponent to death in the ring before making a hasty getaway. Later, Butch attempts to flee from the city but first needs to retrieve a family heirloom – a precious watch – from his apartment. His attempts to recover the watch set into motion a crazy chain of events involving rednecks, gimp masks and a samurai sword! The third and final thread jumps back in time and follows Jules and Vincent once more, this time showing how they make a thorough hash of bringing in one of the young dudes who attempted to steal Marcellus Wallace's fortune. With an unexpected corpse on their hands, they need help from 'cleaner' The Wolf (Harvey Keitel) to mop up their little problem. And even then, their eventful day is far from over as, next, they inadvertently get caught up in an impromptu coffee shop heist masterminded by Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer).
While the narrative structure of Pulp Fiction is devilishly clever, the plot itself doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. The plot merely provides a backdrop against which the characters can interact – the film generates infinite fascination in its rich yet random conversations, where the characters chat casually about things like foot massages, European fast food joints, classic TV shows, piercings and why pigs are filthy animals, plus much, much more. Whatever else you say about Tarantino, he's the best there is when it comes to writing terrific passages of dialogue – there's nothing in cinema quite like a Tarantino conversation. Choosing a favourite performance from the remarkable ensemble work is almost impossible; everyone is in dynamic form, though it is perhaps Jackson, as the bible-bashing, smart-mouthed hit-man Jules, who leaves the most lasting impression. His career post- Pulp Fiction has been, quite simply, a twenty year success story. There's an abundance of terrific individual scenes too – the adrenalin- shot-to-the-heart sequence in which Vincent saves Mia from a drug overdose; the clean-up of Marvin's corpse after being accidentally shot by Vincent; Christopher Walken's unforgettable single-scene cameo in which he describes the history of Butch's gold watch It would take too long to list all of the film's many wonderful vignettes; let's just say it overflows with great moments. Different viewers will take from it their own particular favourites. If Reservoir Dogs hailed the emergence of a fiery raw talent in Tarantino, Pulp Fiction marks a quantum leap in style, control and story-telling bravado. It remains a brilliant film, only Tarantino's second behind the cameras but still a strong contender for his best.