Nice but not that nice

Rating: 7/10 (7 December 2005)

Dogs is a decent movie, but time has not made it better. I like a lot about Reservoir Dogs. The acting is good and even though the movie is small, we get a convincing Tarantino world painted around us. The dialog is good and funny as we expect but some of the writing is a little dry and plotting slow. The aftermath of the robbery and the history of an informant pervade the entire storyline. The limited set pieces keep the movie simple but also show that it was clearly written with a very low budget in mind, as such it feels limited in scope with some probably claiming that is part of the point. Whatever. I think there are a few scenes that are downright boring. Joe and Mr. White's exchange in the office is a snooze but the "Comode" soliloquy Roth memorizes to convince his fellow robbers of his authenticity is brilliant. The violence is effective, but not quite affecting. I wanted more cuts, more sets, more plot. Dogs could easily be transplanted to a stage and many times that's where it feels we are watching it, which to me isn't a good thing.
On the whole its a great first film of course. If we only view films in the context of the time they were released, ET and Star Wars would never be surpassed in their brilliance, thankfully that is not the case. Dogs is good, but not as Brilliant as Empire magazine and other Dogs zealots would have you believe. My advice? Show the robbery in silence from a black and white security cam at the VERY end with the credits rolling and you have a better movie. I like it, I really do, but its not a Rashomon or Rio Bravo. Reservoir Dogs is a nice Point Blank. Nicely entertaining, convincingly executed and completely ineffectual.