Tarantino's Only Interesting Movie

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2004)

I really find Tarantino totally overrated: He tries to make an impact by overwhelming his audience with unbelievably gory scenes, while his films lack any substantial and interesting element; the "Kill Bill" series are a prime example of this lame strategy. However, there is one single exception to the above: "Reservoir Dogs".
To start with, "Reservoir Dogs" still has the necessary Tarantinesque blood galore and shocking scenes, although these are more limited compared to his other films. Moreover, blood is not what makes "RD" stand out: Instead, the film has a very distinct style, as it depicts the characters of the movie in a very ordinary, "next-door-guy" style, while they commit not-so-ordinary crimes. The dialogs, the setting, the suspense, everything is very simple and yet very different in its way, as the film has a structure which is elementary yet intriguing. The plot is also quite simple (five strangers perform a bank robbery and then try to find a rat among them), yet it achieves to keep our interest in high levels until the very end. The performances are good, with Harvey Kaitel being first among equals.
Pity that Tarantino did not make any other movies like this one. 8/10.