Tarantino's Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (2 August 2007)

A group of criminals are assembled to pull off a diamond heist, but something goes wrong and all heck breaks loose. To top it off, the ones who escape must face the facts: someone in the team was a rat. But who was it? And what do they do with the cop in the trunk?
I think many people consider "Pulp Fiction" Tarantino's best film, and I would agree that it's a fine film. But "Reservoir Dogs" uses the same formula even earlier, with a tighter script and solid actors (without relying on heavyweights like Bruce Willis). And, I think it's safe to say, this one has created more of a cult following and generates more homages (the walking in unison scene, the cop torture scene, etc.).
We definitely get Michael Madsen's best performance here, and a strong Steve Buscemi. Was Madsen good in "Free Willy"? Sure, but this is his defining role that kept him popular for the next decade. Buscemi always shines, but again he stands out here like he's not allowed to do anywhere else (with the possible exception of "Ghost World"). Chris Penn (science bless him) and Tim Roth also are wonderful.
Tarantino knows how to incorporate music into his movies -- you have to give him that. Taking lost or forgotten songs and making them sound fresh and new. Stealers Wheel was already known for "Stuck in the Middle With You" long before Tarantino put it in his movie, but how many of us can now never hear it the same way again? Radio play of the song likely increased, and we're all picturing the same thing...
We also see his strong dialog writing skills. This is Tarantino's best skill: dialog. Sometimes this hinders him (some think it dragged down the pace of "Kill Bill Volume 2", almost all agree that "Death Proof" was too dialog-heavy). But other times it's the driving force. "Reservoir Dogs" is largely memorable for it's conversations, such as the Madonna conversation and the tipping conversation. Madsen and Buscemi are very quotable ("Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"). "Pulp Fiction" steps this up a notch (the watch story, Royale with Cheese, Big Kahuna burger), but the foundation really rests on this movie.
If you haven't seen this one, see it. As of this review, it is sitting at the 65th best movie of all time according to Internet Movie Database. I have no reason to deny it that ranking. It might be better, it might be worse -- but it's clearly a strong movie.