Review of Pulp Fiction (1994) by Xgary X — 08 Jan 2014

Pulp Fiction skillfully blends the stories of Jules and Vincent, a pair of wise cracking hit-men and their stash of unidentified merchandise, Marsellus Wallace the criminal kingpin they work for, his coke snorting wife Mia, scheming prizefighter Butch Coolidge who double crosses him and a pair of small-time hold up artists.

Upon the success of Reservoir Dogs, opinion was heavily divided as to Quentin's merit as a film maker, many condemning him as nothing more than a plagiarist passing off the ideas of better film makers as his own.

Pulp Fiction silenced these critics and scooped the Palm d'Or at Cannes and by rights should have won best picture at the Oscars of that year. As you can probably tell, there is enough material here to make three films, but Tarantino's brilliantly economical script (hard) boils the constituent elements into a brilliant homage to exploitation flicks through the decades.

The disjointed timeline works magnificently and the film constantly surprises on first viewing and consistently entertains thereafter. Many speak of memorable scenes and memorable lines from certain films, but EVERY scene, EVERY character and nearly every line in this film has become iconic.

It boasts an unequalled ensemble cast of the coolest of the cool actors, a similarly iconic soundtrack and it captured the imagination of an entire generation. This film is, and always will be, entrenched in my top ten favourite films of all time.