Complex and confronting, but still a masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (11 August 2006)

In the minds of most people, Pulp Fiction is a collection of recycled movie scenes, punctuated by extreme violence, 70's music, and pop culture references. That's supposedly all it takes to make a Quentin Tarantino movie. Yet, how many movies have there been since which have copied this "formula" that are as fresh, energetic, alive and exciting? None. Pulp Fiction remains the best movie of the 1994, and perhaps the decade.
Director and co-writer Quentin Tarantino is courteous enough to credit the viewer with some intelligence. As in his previous "Reservoir Dogs", he and writer Roger Avary create a web of events and characters that ultimately all play parts of a larger story, they connect. This time the tale is far more sprawling and complex, but it also rewards and satisfies.
Every actor in Pulp Fiction gives a career-topping performance in every role (has Bruce Willis ever been better? Uma Thurman, she was great in Kill Bill though). Travolta especially shines, back in top form after years of bad movies. His smooth, underconfident junkie Vincent Vega is our link to all three stories. He "plays" a different character depending on who he's on screen with. He talks jivey when on screen with Jules, cool when with Mia Wallace, and tough in his brief scene with Butch. He doesn't have the confidence to be himself at any time. It's a great performance. When Vincent and Jules begin the movie by hassling the three young cons, they "get into character" before entering the room. Jackson is mesmerizing as Jules, fearsome and religious. Frank Whaley, Steve Buscemi, Peter Green, and Christopher Walken also appear in bit parts.
Overall, not for the squeamish and light hearted, but not to be written off or underestimated, this is riveting and discomforting storytelling. It can be a difficult, rattling experience, but this reviewer has found its rewards to vastly outweigh its weaknesses, Pulp Fiction is a landmark film and the director has created a wonderfully, rich, diverse satire of violence and campy black humor...combined with a awesome soundtrack.
See It If You Liked: Natural Born Killers, Go, Reservoir Dogs
10/10
-Luke Rowe