DVD Review: Reservoir Dogs (A-)

Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth and Christopher Penn
MPAA: R
Grade: A-

Review by Scott Standish

Director Quentin Tarantino gave Martin Scorsese a run for his money with this over the top, flashback laden gangster flick. Brutally violent and at times darkly humorous, Reservoir Dogs tells the tale of a failed bank heist and its chaotic aftermath. The direction is tight, the script is clever and the acting is solid. Look for standout performances by Steve Buscemi and Michael Madsen.

Tarantino's character study is a complex web of macho ex-cons assigned colors instead of names to keep their identities secret from each other. The old timer mob boss has brought them together for what would appear to be your average run of the mill bank heist - but of course, everything goes wrong. With cops swarming the bank, the motley crew has to shoot their way out.

Safely back at an abandoned warehouse the film really takes off as the survivors fight over who tipped the cops off. The always intense Harvey Keitel once again plays a hard nosed crook with loyalist sensibilities. Chris Penn is perfectly cast as the ring leader's liaison. Most impressive here is Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink, a grimy rat of a hood with twisted views on crime, waitresses and life in general. Buscemi has a knack for choosing bizarre characters and then delivering the goods, and his role in Reservoir Dogs probably cemented this reputation in Hollywood.

Reservoir Dogs also features a brilliantly understated performance from Michael Madsen, who saunters through the film, much as he did in Thelma and Louise. Underneath this calm exterior is the mind of someone not quite right. This becomes obvious when he cheerfully chops off a cop's ear, douses him with gasoline and, well you get the picture. All to the tune of "Stuck In The Middle With You", the retro classic by Stealer's Wheel. Fantastic. Disturbingly violent and darkly humorous at the same time, the scene is indicative of Reservoir Dogs as a whole.

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