Tarantino's bloody introduction

Rating: 9/10 (29 September 2016)

Set in the aftermath of a heist that went horribly wrong the surviving gangsters head to the meet-up point in a warehouse. The first two to arrive are 'Mr White' and the seriously injured 'Mr Orange'. Shortly afterwards they are joined by 'Mr Pink' who is convinced that everything went wrong because somebody must have informed the police in advance. He is also far from impressed by 'Mr Blonde's' behaviour during the robbery as he shot several people. Mr Blonde is the next to arrive; along with a policeman he has taken hostage. As we wait for Joe Cabot, the man behind the heist, to arrive the tension rises as they try to find out who told the police. Inevitably they start to turn on each other and eventually guns are drawn.
While all this is going on we get a series of flashbacks giving us details of how things got to how they are now. This includes seeing the aftermath of the robbery as they have a shootout with the police and Mr Orange gets shot. We also learn why they have colour coded names.
This film certainly won't be for everybody; the violence is brutal and bloody rather than stylised. One scene, where the police officer has his ear cut off, has gone down as one of cinema's most violent moments even though the actual event happens off camera. There is also a lot of swearing and characters use racist epitaphs. If all that doesn't but you off this is a great film; it is tense from start to finish and contains some great dialogue. Before this it was rare for anybody in films to talk about anything unrelated to the plot but here we see the characters having irrelevant conversations that make the characters more real. Tarantino gives the film a great look by having the gangsters dress identically in black suits and ties while a seventies soundtrack plays in the background; this music is cleverly justified by having the local radio station having a 'Sounds of the Seventies' week. The cast are all on top form; Michael Madsen is particularly memorable as the sadistic 'Mr Blonde'. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who enjoys heist movies just don't expect a jolly caper.