Review of Pulp Fiction (1994) by Matthew H — 03 Mar 2014

Pulp Fiction is one of those movies I liked more in retrospect than at the time. I think Tarantino's genius does play a part in this film, and the product is substantial; but Reservoir Dogs is better.

All the characters use witty, random dialogue about European hamburgers and the sexual implications of foot massages, but to what avail? I mean, as fun as it is to hear and watch, I just found that the whole movie lacked something. Maybe a little bit more editing would've done the trick; maybe it was something else. I can't quite put my finger on it.

Don't get me wrong. I think this is a classic Tarantino movie. I enjoyed Samuel L. Jackson's quotable lines, as well as a couple of outstanding scenes. (The OD, the Big Date, the scene where Harvey Keitel gets rid of the body, etc.) As a whole, the movie does work. But some minor details would make it even better.

The storyline of Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames was a little much. (Did Ving *really* have to get raped?) I know Tarantino just wanted to add some shock value to his film, but even for a person who doesn't mind that kind of thing in movies I found it a little extreme.

Oh, and one more thing: I learned that "zapateria" means "shoe store" in Spanish, courtesy of Butch.