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Topic~ BCT's Epic 169 Movie Watch-Through (mostly '00s): Topic 1 [THE LIST] ~
BlueCrystalTear
09/17/22 11:16:36 PM
#24:


Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Chris Penn (Sean's brother), Lawrence Tierney
Previous status: Never seen

The film starts at a diner with conversation that seems irrelevant after watching it all - this was probably doe to lay the groundwork for how the relationships would form as the movie went on, as well as surprise us with the ending in a way. The only one at the table I recognize instantly is actually Tarantino himself - it takes me a minute to place Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink (the beard threw me), but the rest of the actors are mostly unfamiliar to me. Looking it up, this was a budget indie release that got Tarantino noticed enough for Pulp Fiction to happen, so that explains some things.

One thing I immediately don't like is how the story is very dialogue-heavy at the start with telling us what happened as opposed to showing, since it's after the heist went south. Non-linear storytelling can be awesome, and it definitely works as buildup in a thriller, but if you put all your dialogue toward the front of the movie and all your action later, it can get dull. This is only the case for the first quarter of the movie, at least, as the buildup starts with a footchase told in flashback. In addition to the heavy early dialogue, it's hard to understand them sometimes, particularly when they're injured. It also can be distraction how fucking much they fucking swear. My mom would've fucking hated this movie for that fucking reason. Me, I think cursing works to an extent - and it does at times in this, but at others it's too much and drowns out what's actually important.

The movie finally catches me off guard when Vic Vega aka Mr. Blonde is abruptly shot as he's about to light the place on fire just to burn his cop hostage alive - after that already gruesome ear-cutting (that was hard to watch, but I made it through) - for lulz. Mr. Orange turns out to be the mole that Mr. Pink smelled. There are plenty of flashbacks after this detailing his backstory, followed by the actual footage of the heist where Mr. Brown is killed (there was a Mr. Blue apparently, too, who never really mattered to the plot at all). Everyone starts blaming each other for a heist gone wrong and they all kill each other, save for Mr. Pink - the ass who doesn't tip, the most vulgar, the one who refused his nickname, and he makes off with the diamonds before the cops show up to finish off Mr. White before he can mercy kill Orange. All of this just blew up because all these criminals have egos and impulses. Sounds about right. When a heist goes wrong, it goes VERY wrong. We never did get to see the actual filching - which is due to budget, but Tarantino worked with it best he could by having it described. That said, in movies, showing is always better if you ca do it - because dialogue is too easy to miss some of, and hard to go back to re-process slowly.

In the end, I enjoyed the movie, even though it's not without its flaws. If those few scenes truncated the cussing to focus on what's meanignful and the story wasn't so dialogue-heavy for too long, and they showed a little more, I'd have absolutely loved it. Instead, I merely liked it, and think I may need to watch it again to fully appreciate everything that went into a film with this budget. Right now, I'd say it's a 4/5.

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[This post adds nothing to the discussion but for whatever reason I felt the need to say it anyway.]
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