The acting and script tower over mindless direction

Rating: Null/10 (28 October 2000)

I'm sure that the final shootout in this movie was originally written by Tarantino to be a farcicist romp, but Tony Scott makes no light of that. Instead of showing violence as absurdity, he shows it as a glamorous way of dealing with one's aggression. In fact, Scott's direction almost made me not like this film. The camera never stops and the fanatical editing is overkill. This just goes to show you that no one can direct a Tarantino script other than Tarantino himself. Old QT would have made this movie violent and funny, instead of violent and silly. The acting cannot be faulted, though. Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt and Christopher Walken are the best of the bunch. I've never cared much for Michael Rapaport, and would've much rather seen someone like Steve Buscemi play this part. And about Tom Sizemore and Chris Penn: Was I supposed to feel for these guys in the movie? I know that they're cops, but they weren't likable at all and they're introduced about three-fourth's into the film, seeming like they've come straight out of another movie. So all in all, the good things: The acting. The script. The bad things? The direction. The editing. And I'm sorry, that ending too! What cheese!