Unique Style but Average Story

Rating: 5/10 (12 August 2007)

"I love hit men. No matter what you do to them, you don't feel bad. "
When i first saw this film being advertised, it intrigued me because of the comic book and unique style it holds. A thing that intrigued me more was the fact that Rodriguez and Tarantino were working together on it (although Tarantino only directed small part of film) , of course they make a good pair making "From Dusk Till Dawn" and "Desperado".
As for the film itself, I was surprised to see another pulp fiction style structured film in the context of, there being 3 stories that initially intertwine as the film progresses. Although it had the same rough and sleazy feel to the film it failed to deliver something that pulp fiction did, the breaking of gangster stereotypes. Pulp Fiction did this through casual every day conversation and pop culture reference. This is also used effectively in Reservoir Dogs. This fact somehow brings the film down to average status.
The three stories have somewhat simple but effective plots that makes it easy to follow. Unlike pulp fiction, it didn't have on screen chapter names, some people believe that to be an advantage however, i believe the use of chapter titles makes it easier to take in but the use of a black screen for a few seconds isn't all that bad.
The stories don't intertwine as cleverly as the 3 in pulp fiction do and this i think affects the message and style of the film. The outrageous and graphic violence in this movie are quite overdone and seems as if they were put in to just be controversial and shock the audience rather then show real life, possible situations. I am talking about the movie without thinking about the comic so I'm not suggesting that the director should have lowered it down, i am just looking at this as a movie rather then an adaptation of a comic book.
In conclusion, i see this as an entertaining film but movie fanatics, don't prepare to be impressed by the lacklustre stories 5/10