Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino (Screenplay)
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney
Plot: After a simple jewelry heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Redefining Crime Thriller
Story: Reservoir Dogs starts as we meet our bank robbers before they go into their latest job, in typical Tarantino style we jump past the actual job as we watch Mr Orange (Roth) after he has been shot with Mr White (Keitel) heading back to the rendezvous. When Mr Pink (Buscemi) turns up White and Pink try to figure up what happened along with what to do with Mr Orange.
Mr Blonde (Madsen) and Nice Guy Eddie Cabot (Penn) arrive tension continue to rise are the group try to figure out who the rat really is.
Reservoir Dogs gives us a crime thriller that did something we hadn’t seen before, it changes the way stories needed to be told by jumping between time periods as we learn about each character and how they ended up where they are now with the heist gone wrong. The mix of twists all work nicely because as you only know the outcome of each situation you never learn what they did to end up where they are until we see their individual story. Saying this could also be used as a downside because people would have liked to have seen the film unfold in an order that is easier to watch but fans should praise the style of this film.
Actor Review
Harvey Keitel: Mr White is the experienced member of the thieves that is starting to make mistakes with how he acts between the fellow thieves and who he can trust of not. He knows the jobs can be done without anyone getting hurt as long as he is working with the right people. Harvey is great in this role showing how he could be a leading actor in a heist style thriller.
Tim Roth: Mr Orange is one of the newest members of the team that gets bought in on this job, he gets shot while on the job leaving him on deaths door for most of this film as he begs to be taken to a hospital. Tim is good in this role which is mostly stuck on the dying before he flashbacks.
Michael Madsen: Mr Blonde is the psychotic member of the team who is looking to shot first and ask questions later, he is involved in the most famous scene of this film as he doesn’t like loose ends. Michael is easily the most iconic characters in this film and that scene with Stuck in the Middle will stay with you long after seeing the film.
Chris Penn: Nice Guy Eddie Cabot is the son of the boss the team is working for, he isn’t fully involved in the job but making sure the team has everything and is united as well as being around to clean up any loose ends. Chris is good in this role but we don’t get as much scenes with him as we would like as his character comes off annoying.
Steve Buscemi: Mr Pink is the talker of the group, he only wants to look out for himself after this job goes wrong. He doesn’t like his name but has to learn to deal with it. Steve is good in this supporting role that gets the best dialog of the film.
Support Cast: Reservoir Dogs only has a couple more characters that all help the story unfold the way it does.
Director Review: Quentin Tarantino – Quentin fully put himself on the map with this crime thriller that showed his storytelling ability and a fresh style on making films.
Crime: Reservoir Dogs puts us in the middle of a heist with the plan, the meeting and the aftermath without ever showing the actually heist.
Thriller: Reservoir Dogs keeps us guessing to who is the cop and what actually went on during the heist.
Music: Reservoir Dogs showed the Tarantino loved uses music for extra effects.
Settings: Reservoir Dogs keeps most of the action inside the warehouse only moving away to show what has previously happened to the characters.
Suggestion: Reservoir Dogs is a film I think most people should have watch at least once. (Watch)
Best Part: Stuck in the Middle with you.
Worst Part: Can turn people away with mixed time line.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $1.2 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
Tagline: Four perfect killers. One perfect crime. Now all they have to fear is each other.
Trivia: Armed with $30,000 and a 16mm camera, Quentin Tarantino was all set to make the film with a bunch of friends, including his producing partner Lawrence Bender who was going to play Nice Guy Eddie. It was then that Tarantino received an answerphone message from Harvey Keitel, asking if he could not only be in the film but help produce it. Keitel had gotten involved via the wife of Bender’s acting class teacher, who had managed to get a copy of the script to him. Keitel’s involvement helped raise the budget to $1.5 million.
Overall: Thriller that keeps you guessing without you knowing what is the truth until the end
Rating
