Review: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Lots of fast talk and wordplay with very little meaning or purpose.

Written By: Roger Avary & Quentin Tarantino
Directed By: Quentin Tarantino

Bloody, violent and slick all describe Reservoir Dogs. But, so do tiresome and without purpose. Reservoir Dogs is very bloody and very violent, but the blood and violence is used effectively and doesn’t feel like blood and violence just for the sake of a shock. It’s shot very slickly and written so that every character is a slick talking street tough. The actors bring that slick talking to life with tremendous delivery and excellent interplay among themselves. But, for those positives there remains the fact that there isn’t much to Reservoir Dogs. The first scene encapsulates the entire movie, a lot of slick talk with no purpose or meaning behind it that repeats itself over and over again. If Reservoir Dogs had been given some sort of purpose then it would have been a much finer film. This isn’t Seinfeld, this isn’t a movie about nothing, Reservoir Dogs is clearly about something, it’s too bad it never decides to tell us what that is or why we should care about what is going on.

Surprisingly enough I absolutely hated Reservoir Dogs when I first experienced it. My friends were raving about this eclectic new film and how great it was, but I didn’t find one redeemable moment in it and was left with an empty feeling upon completing the movie. This time however I was able to recognize how smart it was and how clever it was with its dialogue. I was also able to appreciate the actors and what they brought to the table. I was completely wrong to ever think that Reservoir Dogs had nothing to offer, because it has plenty to offer. I can see why so many people were taken with it and I can understand why its slick style wins so many over to this day. I still don’t think Reservoir Dogs is a good film as a whole, but I can appreciate the pieces that were excellent and respect it as a decent film.

Rating:

**1/2

Cheers,
Bill Thompson