Quentin Tarantino's mobster flick is very violent and bloody, but superbly entertaining

Rating: 9/10 (7 March 2015)

Quentin Tarantino has scaled the ladder of Hollywood filmmakers since his directorial debut in 1992. With his unique style of filmmaking and writing, Tarantino has established himself as a masterful Hollywood mogul. Although his magnum opus 'Pulp Fiction' placed the director in the front ranks of Hollywood filmmakers, it was this brutal crime- drama that place Tarantino in the cinematic radar. Blossoming with a cutthroat script, audacious humor, and a masterfully artistic representation of violence, this mobster drama showcases the fine director's snappy filmmaking talent in arguably one of his most polishes forms yet. It is violent, it is brutal, and it is darkly funny in shocking ways. Most importantly, it is a raw gangster flick that pays a fair amount of homages to the classic film-noir genre of the 50s and 60s, and that is only half of what makes this movie subversively entertaining. This film stars Lawrence Tierney as Joe Cabot, a mob boss who hires a group of gangsters under the names Mr. White (played by Harvey Keital), Mr. Blonde (played by Michael Madsen), Mr. Pink (played by Steve Buscemi), Mr. Orange (played by Tim Roth), Mr. Brown (played by Quentin Tarantino), and Mr. Blue (played by Edward Bunker) to rob a jewelry store in attempt to their hands on some precious diamonds. When the robbery goes terribly wrong and Mr. Orange is severely wounded, the criminals grows suspicious each other, believing one of them is backstabbing traitor. From there on, tension rise to violent consequences.
Tarantino supplies an incredible surplus of substance and flair in this violent "whodunit" caper story. This film opens with a scene of our characters gathered up a diner where we are treated with a bold, yet darkly humorous introduction of the characters before they embark on their dangerous heist. When the heist turns to chaos and Tim Roth's character takes a bullet to the chest, that is when the plot kicks into gear. The driving force behind the plot is the visceral tension that grows between the characters as they each suspect that one of them is a mole. This soon accounts to a series of verbal spars supplemented with audacious dialogue and tension that leads to unpredictable bloodbaths. One scene in particularly involves a tied-up police officer who is unfairly treated to one of the cruelest (and most graphic) methods of torture ever put to screen. With the most of the action taking place in an abandoned warehouse, the violent tension greatly builds up to the shocking climax which demonstrates the nihilistic nature of the characters. While things go escalate far into mean-spirited territory that can e uncomfortable for the weak stomach, Tarantino never attempts to dive into the realm of exploitation.
Although the none of the characters are particularly likable for their obvious moral depravity and ruthless personalities, Tarantino does a fairly decent job at keeping the characters interesting. The cast of made of a roster of inspiring actors who exhibit incredible performances that make a good equation of the characters' memorability. Lawrence Tierney as the mob boss and Chris Penn as his son deliver strong performances for their limited time on screen. Acquiring the most screen time is Harvey Keitel who demonstrates plenty of grit and energy in his role. The same can be mentioned for Steve Buscemi who takes a stab at some bold humor, mostly during the opening scene in the diner. Tim Roth gives a solid performance for a role that restrains him to lying in a pool of blood after his suffers a bullet wound. He does a marvelous job at displaying a realistic sense of agony for someone who's met the wrong end of a firearm. Michael Madsen is steals the show with his sadistic role as the mean-spirited member of the group who takes a cringe-inducing joy in sadism, particularly in one scene. Then there is Edward Bunker and Quentin Tarantino himself -- both of whom share a very limited amount of screen time but nonetheless make good work of the small roles they are pitted with. It is hard to say whether any of these performances are Oscar-worthy, but for they these actors accomplish, they will keep your eyes glued to the screen.
Reservoir Dogs is a raw, violent, and bloody crime thriller that is superbly entertaining from start to finish, and displays Quentin Tarantino operating at one of his finest forms yet. With no surprise, this film is highly unlikely to be a welcoming experience for those who can't stomach blood-spewing violence and gleeful profanity. For everyone else, this is an entertaining picture for the crime genre.