pushy, manipulative, annoying, offensive

Rating: 2/10 (10 March 2003)

I'll give the director this much: few films have ever gotten me thinking so much about why I dislike them. Actually, I would have just walked out on the thing and be done with it, but the movie's undeserved reputation caused me to wonder if I'd missed something in my rush to judgement (and, not coincidentally, to the exit).
I suspect I didn't miss much. There's a lot to dislike about "Reservoir Dogs". The film's violence is legendary, as is its potty-mouthed dialog, but neither of those are necessarily bad things in a movie.

No, what's unforgivable in this movie is the way the director revels in his ability to offend the viewer. The stage is set in the diner scene, as the cast takes turns mouthing cleverly-scripted yet coldly unfunny trash talk, and by all accounts reaches its climax in the bloody scene that finally got me to walk out of the theater, 20 minutes after I first felt the urge.

But never mind the blood and guts--though one suspects that if Tarantino had directed "Fargo," it would consist of little more than shots of the woodchipper in use. The diner scene pretty much spells out that the director's not interested in making the viewer laugh or think, but only to make him recoil. Tarantino is undoubtedly skilled at this, but it's not the sort of reaction I'm willing to pay to experience, as one gets enough of that for free these days.