Solid writing, harsh style

Rating: 6/10 (16 July 2016)

If you compare this to another Tarantino flick (let's go with "Pulp Fiction"), "True Romance" offers a load of memorable bits; the Sicilians conversation; Brad Pitt's classic stoner; Bronson Pinchot; Gandolfini's merciless beating; the absurd shootout at the Ambassador. This movie's full of funny dialogue - and with that, some pretty gruesome violence. For me, it's not very cohesive, and once we leave Detroit for California sunshine (when it goes overboard with the cigarette smoke and filtered light) it loses something. The first act is where the sweetness between Slater and Arquette really shines; once they get the drug deal rolling, we lose Walken and that cute couple and it's a standard Tony Scott movie. We get back to the romance at the end, but by then, I really did miss Walken (and Gary Oldman - man, that guy's nuts).
It's the loud and in-your-face style that I wasn't really onboard with. Some Scott movies work pretty well. Some really don't. This was somewhere in the middle. And don't get me wrong, I'm not averse to violence; far from it. But here, it takes control.
6/10