Realistic, but very thin story and stupid characters

Rating: 4/10 (7 May 2008)

Non-spoiler section....
I recently viewed this movie and I'm rather surprised at its high rating on IMDb. Many IMDb users voted this movie a "10", and for the life of me, I cannot see how this film remotely compares to any of the three "Godfather" movies (among my favorites), "Gone With the Wind", "Platoon", or even "Scarface". If not presented in the broken, nearly reversed chronological order, there would be virtually no plot, and very thin character development.
WARNING - Spoiler section....
I'm not one adversely affected by violence in films, but the torture scene in "Reservoir Dogs" really put me off. It seemed realistic and sadistic, but I can't say that I was entertained. (I know, I probably wasn't supposed to be entertained at that point.)
I had issues with a couple of the plot developments, and believe me, there were very few plot developments. First, I was rather dismayed at the idea that Harvey Keitel's character could stand against his long-time friends, Joe and Eddie Cabot, to the point of gunning them down, all while trying to protect someone he virtually did not know, and who could easily (and did) turn out to be the informer/cop. Then, if that weren't silly enough, the undercover cop (Tim Roth's character, Mr. Orange, I believe) tells Harvey Keitel (Mr. White) that he's a cop. What could have motivated such a move? Did he want to make Mr. White feel bad for saving his life? Did he have a death wish? I think my mouth fell open trying to figure that one out. In the end, I just lumped it into the category of "no plot" and moved on.
My last negative comment relates to the lengthy, meaningless, inane banter between the thugs around the breakfast table and in the car. It may reflect real life, but so does mowing the lawn. Neither situation is terribly fun to watch for several minutes on film.
On the positive side, I thought the movie was well acted, especially by Steve Buscemi. It was certainly realistic, and the chopped, reverse chronology turned a nearly non-existent plot into a bit of a mystery. Overall, I'd rate this movie a 4 out of 10.