1123. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Running Time: 99 mins

Reservoir Dogs is an American film about a botched jewellery heist, and the ensuing argument between the surviving perpetrators as they suspect that one of their group is a police informant.

It’s incredible to think that such a brilliant movie as this was a director’s feature debut, but’s that’s testament to Quentin Tarantino’s unbelievable genius when it comes to making a movies. A short and snappy affair, Reservoir Dogs is memorable for its fantastic soundtrack, stunning performances, intense violence, but most of all, its unbelievable screenplay.

There really are few stories as good as this one, and even apart from being just thrilling, it’s uniquely structured and executed, providing yet more fascination with this amazing film.

The plot of the heist that goes awry is presented in a largely non-linear structure, weaving between the various roles of the various men involved as they try to figure out what went wrong, and who is the rat. So, right from the start, it’s a completely unpredictable film, as its unconventional plot means that it really can go absolutely anywhere, leaving you consistently on edge, and always totally engrossed in what’s going to happen next.

Along with the writing of the plot, the dialogue in this is incredible too. Tarantino does an amazing job at making this gritty crime thriller burst with energy through the characters’ dialogue, and it’s their rapid-fire, foul-mouthed, back-and-forth arguments that turn this into such an entertaining watch as well. It may not be Tarantino’s funniest film, unlike later movies such as Inglourious Basterds, but there’s no doubt that it’s still a hugely enjoyable watch.

Away from the writing, the performances are all stunning too. Although it’s an ensemble cast with around seven main characters, the story mainly zooms in on the stories of Michael Madsen, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi and Tim Roth, and with such brilliantly-written characters coupled with a host of amazingly entertaining and still dramatically impressive performances, it’s inevitable that this film is going to be an incredible watch.

Overall, Reservoir Dogs is a brilliant classic of the crime genre, and features a fantastically original plot coupled with great dialogue, performances, music and directing, and that’s why it gets an 8.9 from me.