Cinema Reborn

Rating: 10/10 (9 September 2002)

First films aren't meant it be like this, have no right to be anywhere near this good. They tend to have an academic respect for storytelling rules, to emphasize the visuals.
Reservoir Dogs made Tarantino as a director. It was his first chance to truly take control of one of his zinger-laced screenplays and make it his own, and it was his first time working with actors. And with results that would kick-off one of the most revered filmmaking careers in the history of Hollywood, he faced his insecurities head-on: it's all in the performances.
This film should not work because it is a heist-film where you never see the heist, where you find out more about a character's take on Madonna's lyrics than their deep-seated motivations for committing the off-screen crime. Most of it happens in a grim safe-house, and features many actors who barely registered on people's radars, led by Harvey Keitel who, immeasurably generous with his co-stars, championed this film into existence and let others keep its most memorable moments.
Reservoir Dogs is an impeccably written, performed and crafted dark little gem. It kick-started a slew of new bad habits in filmmaking: self-aware dialogue, retro- soundtracks, and language that comes with its own hygienic disclaimer. Yet like all masterpieces of note, the more you see its influence applied, the more it shines for getting everything perfectly right.
it's safe to say Tarantino, drowning in critical-adulation and his urge to fill every film with 70s B-movie homages, has not matched his work here since. Then again, nearly no one else has.