Prior Viewings: 1
The main talking point with this movie, other than the fact that it sees Quentin Tarantino at possibly his most foot-obsessed, has always been the sudden genre shift. Most viewers tend to enjoy the crime-heavy first half to some degree, with its dry, dusty settings, hostage-related suspense, and sharp dialogue (which Clooney performs the hell out of, by the way). But then this story takes an unexpected detour around the halfway mark, where it remains for the duration. It's the kind of thing you either go with or you don't.
I'm able to go with it. Generally speaking, I like when movies are daring enough to take sudden left turns like this. And while the back half definitely feels a little cheaper at times (which isn't helped by the janky special effects and campy performances), and you kinda get the sense that Tarantino only did it because he got bored and/or wrote himself into a corner, I think it's still an engrossing and fun time. And it helps that the stylish dialogue and interesting character developments and amusing twists are just as present as they ever were.
If horror really was as stagnant in the mid-90s as everyone says, something this offbeat and subversive must've been a welcome change of pace.
Grade: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment