10 reasons to state this is one of the greatest movies ever!

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 2004)

Sure, purely talking cinema, True Romance isn't the most perfect film ever made (it's not boring enough for that). But, when it comes to entertainment values and coolness, this motion picture yet has to find an equal. Any first viewing of True Romance will literally blow you away and repeated viewing will only prove that this is one mean, addictive film. Through the years, True Romance built up quite a status and it's immensely popular. Still, too often it's categorized as worthless violence and therefore I'll introduce to you 10 reasons why this film is just brilliant!
1. True Romance was the first screenplay written by Quentin TarantinoNow, it's unquestionable that Tarantino is one of the most gifted writers in cinema ever and this first work of his excellently reflects his enthusiasm and talent. The protagonist  Clarence Worley  has a lot in common with Quentin's own personality and because of this; True Romance actually looks like one giant daydream/fantasy of an imaginative adolescent.
2. The choice of Tony Scott as the director. Unlike Oliver Stone in Natural Born Killers, Scott didn't feel the need to oppress his own visual style in True Romance. Yet, he adds a little more flair than QT would himself, so what you get is some sort of explosive crossover between Reservoir Dogs and Top Gun.
3. The all-star Cast!!!! Man, would you look at that cast! Some of Hollywood's best performers of every generation are there. Some of them only have miniscule roles but their presence is an extra added value, anyway. Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, James Gandolfini, Brad Pitt, Michael Rapaport, Bronson Pinchot, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Victor Argo
4. Every single personality in True Romance is adorably eccentric and worth analyzing. Clarence and Alabama are the 'good guys', yet they're pretty messed up in their heads themselves. Basically, every person in this film is a self-centered weirdo driven by mad thoughts and insanity. As a result of this, superb and colorful dialogues are overwhelming you. Excellent, first-class quote material.
5. The romantic on screen chemistry between Clarence and AlabamaEven though the plot may seem extremely illogical and far-fetched, the love and devotion between these two feels sincere and intense. Their interactions and sexual escapades increase the viewer's involvement.
6. That one particular sequence Fans certainly will know what I'm talking about now! A tour-de-force between two of the talented actors ever, resulting in a breath-taking climax. Walken and Hopper's acting almost burns holes in your TV-screen and you can almost feel the cigarette smoke prickling in your eyes. Guided by chilling classical music and shot beyond perfection, this surely is one of most intense sequences ever caught on tape.
7. The trivia elements and references towards other films. QT is an absolute film geek and he terrifically inserts his passion in his script. In many of the dialogues, the characters (Clarence in particular) constantly refer to cinema milestones like Rio Bravo, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Dr. Zhivago. True Romance also is one giant tribute to the King of Rock 'n Roll himself as Clarence is a dedicated Elvis admirer.
8. The Soundtrack! Tarantino films always have blasting soundtracks and True Romance isn't an exception. The main theme is a brilliant instrumental song by Hans Zimmer while the rest of the soundtrack mixes classic oldies and modern songs.
9. The coolness! Simply putthis just is one cool motion picture. Clarence Worley is cool! He drives a purple Cadillac, wears giant sunglasses and eats hamburgers right after killing a guy. That is COOL! The love of his life is equally cool. She's like the perfect woman who likes Kung-Fu movies, dresses sexy and really knows how to defend herself. When asked where to meet discretely, she playfully answers: 'in the roller coaster!' and that, my friend, is cool.
10. The violence! Last but certainly not leastaren't we all a little excited to see massive, grotesque violence? Qua violence, True Romance definitely overtrumps your wickedest expectations. The film contains multiple memorable action sequences and, just when you think you've seen it all, there comes the grand finale! The final sequence is one major adrenalin-rushing shootout, leaving very few to the imagination. Fascinatingly photographed and fun to see.
There you go In case you haven't seen True Romance yet, I have no idea what else would convince you to see it. Changes are high this will be one of your personal favorites, for sure. There only is one little turnoff I should mention. True Romance recently got released on Special (double disc) Millennium edition but that was quite a disappointment. The extras don't really feature anything special. I was hoping to see some deleted scenes or something, but there only is a B-roll documentary and a couple of short interviews.