Reservoir Dogs (1992) - Review

Quentin Tarantino is definitely one of the most famous directors out there. While he is most famous for "Pulp Fiction" which is commonly called one of the greatest movies ever made, many of his other films usually get high praise too. What I really like about Tarantino is that while most of his movies are style over substance, it usually never bothers me because his movies often contain a certain aspect to them that is handled so masterfully, I don't mind nor care about the lack of character development or depth. This is his debut film which started his movie making career and this is where all of his talent originated from.

After a jewelry heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant and tension rises between them as they slowly start to become more and more suspicious of each other.

I mentioned that the majority of his movies being style over substance doesn't bother me because he often handles a particular aspect so well that I don't mind nor care about the lack of depth. What makes this film work so well is its non-linear plot. If it was linear then it wouldn't be as interesting. Its timeline being out of order, however, actually works in its favor. In fact, we actually never see the jewelry heist take place. This movies shows us the aftermath of it. The criminals describe what went wrong in the heist often in the film and they describe it by using such descriptive detail that we are able to imagine what went on in the heist in our heads.

Despite all the praise this movie has gotten, some people accused Tarantino of being a plagiarist. There are definitely some similarities to movies such as "The Killing", "The Asphalt Jungle", "The Taking of Pelham 123", and "City on Fire". Tarantino was definitely influenced by those movies but the word "stealing" is a pretty heavy and strong accusation. Reservoir Dogs is great by itself and it still contains a lot of originality. Tarantino clearly has an extensive film knowledge and he likes to pay an homage to some of his favorite directors very often. In Tarantino's case, his technique helped him make 2 of the best films of the 90's: "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs".

The ensemble cast works very well together and it helps shapes the movie. Usually when I watch movies, I find that only a select few of the actors stand out among the rest. However, I felt that all of the actors stood out a lot. Many of the actors talk fast and, by doing so, it really makes the words jump out of the screen. Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) is the one that steals the show though. He has been through a lot and we can't help but feel sorry for his character and he is the one that most people root for. Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) plays the mob boss. He does a great job in his role and he is able to convince the audience that he's a character that you don't mess with. I wish that he was in the movie more. If he was in more scenes, he would have been a much more memorable character but he still is pretty memorable in the parts he does appear in.

Without any doubt, this film is definitely a masterpiece. It may not be on the same level as "Pulp Fiction" is in terms of greatness and impact on cinema history but its quality is surprisingly not far from it. I really enjoyed its non-linear plot structure and I hope that Tarantino expands on this in future films because he creates outstanding works of cinema when he does that. Every time he does it, I always find myself in awe in certain scenes, especially the endings which are very well-executed and often catch me off guard and surprise me. Back in 1992, Tarantino showed us what he was truly capable of and he proved to the world that he was, in fact, a very talented film maker.

Final Verdict: 10/10 Masterpiece