Blissfully brilliant!
For me this is classic Tarantino. Brilliant plot that only really makes sense once you have seen the whole movie. And when you think you have got it, it does (yet another) twist and then ends, leaving you befuddled and highly entertained. It is actually quite a short story, which is told mainly in flashbacks (and -forwards), and it has so much expression you can smell it. Impressive! Another very Tarantino-like feature is the fantastic irrelevant dialogues. Take for example the opening dialogue where Tarantino himself is explaining his interpretation of Madonna’s song Like a Virgin. Brilliant stuff! In fact so brilliant that Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails have included it in their joint cover edition of the song.
The whole cast playing the gangsters is fully loaded with raw talent. Harvey Keitel does a good job playing mr. White. He is a bit more sensitive than what I have seen in other movies. He does it well. I am not a big fan of Tim Roth and there is a few moments when I think he is overdoing his part here, but in the end he shapes it up. Steve Buscemi is brilliant as mr. Pink. It is a bit of a “standard role” for him, but he is still really good at it. “Am I the only one being professional here?!” Michael Madsen is SO scary playing mr. Blonde. He is a scary guy in general, but this tops it.
The use of special effects are rather limited, but there is quite a lot of blood, which is becoming a trademark of Tarantino it seems. The soundtrack on this other hand is very good. “K-billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies” is a perfect fit for this style. Music from an age past soothing gangsters living in an age past. Nice one!
If you like Tarantino, it is a MUST SEE! If you like classic movies, this should be on you top priority list. It is a ground pillar in the history of epic action-drama movies.
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