High Energy, Non-Stop Violence

Rating: Null/10 (4 September 2011)

True Romance (1993)
*** (out of 4)
High-energy romp written by Quentin Tarantino that all you need to know if that Dennis Hopper of all people plays the most normal character. Clarence (Christian Slater) marries Alabama (Patricia Arquette) after knowing each other one day and when he goes to her pimp (Gary Oldman) to get her things he ends up killing the pimp and running off with half a million in cocaine. Soon the new couple are on their way to California to try and sale it but gangsters are hot on their trail. TRUE ROMANCE, at its heart, is a love story between the couple but with Tarantino's name attached you know it's not going to be your typical romance. Instead we get a foul-mouthed, non-stop violent and at times insane action picture that starts off weird and just keeps getting nuttier as the film goes along. As I said, you know you're in for a wild time when you've got Dennis Hopper playing the most normal person. It should also be mentioned that the mad man Hopper gets a terrific scene with Christopher Walken, which is worth the price of admission. I mean, the two craziest guys of their era in a scene together? Tarantino's screenplay is full of everything people have come to love about him including the references to older movies and the dialogue itself is just so sharp and fresh that you'll have no problem connecting to these characters even when the majority of viewers would never have come into contact with their type in real life. The all-star cast is another major plus with Slater and Arquette doing a terrific job together and they really come off as a wild and crazy couple. The terrific supporting cast includes the already mentioned Hopper and Walken but there's also Val Kilmer playing Elvis, a mentor to Slater plus Brad Pitt as a pothead, Bronson Pinchot, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, Saul Rubinek and James Gandolfini as one of the goons. The violence in the film is pretty brutal from start to finish with the pimp really getting a workout and the ending, which features the good guys doing battle with not only drug dealers but also gangsters and the police. The incredibly violent shoot out is so unrealistic but it's so stylishly done that you have no problem turning off your brain and enjoying. Some of the violence goes a tad bit too far and especially a sequence where Arquette gets her entire body broken to a pulp. There are a few minor issues with the story including how this comic book nerd could turn into a mad man over night plus the fact that it seems like the police are always missing no matter how crazy everything in the story gets. With that said, TRUE ROMANCE isn't a masterpiece but it's still a very entertaining little gem that contains enough energy for two movies and the solid cast really makes it a must see.