By 1996, Quentin Tarantino had already astonished audiences and critics with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, while Robert Rodriguez was occupying the same road of gratuitous violence that he's been on ever since then. Somewhere along the road they decided to make a film together, and I'm guessing they had a bit of a disagreement on what type of film to make. Tarantino wanted to make an intense crime thriller about two brothers taking a family hostage in order to escape to Mexico. Then Robert Rodriguez said in response, "Really? Because I want to make a vampire movie."And so, through a few compromises by both parties, we have From Dusk Till Dawn, which follows the Tarantino storyline for the first fifty minutes of its runtime, right up until a third act twist of vampires. Personally, I think that if they had advertised this film as a crime thriller first and foremost, it would've made the vampire aspect a lot more interesting. As it is, it's still one hell of ride from start to finish. The film is directed by Rodriguez, so you can expect those quick and fun visuals you saw in Desperado. However, Tarantino was the man writing the script, so it has a bit more flair in its dialogue and characters.
The acting in this film, for the most part, is phenomenal. George Clooney plays Seth Gekko, who was broken out of prison by his brother Richie, played by Tarantino himself. While Seth is the sort of calm and smooth criminal who plays everything cool, and draws such a great line of friendly intimidation. You know that he'd rather nobody get hurt, but if he has to, he will not hesitate to cut you down like any other schmuck. A friend of mine once told me that Clooney can't really act, but that he's naturally that awesome in his day to day life. I feel somewhat inclined to believe him, but at the same time, he did choose to be in The American. So I believe that he can act, and he's on top of his game in this film.
As for Seth's brother Richie, he's pretty much a sociopath. Seth constantly has to watch over him like a babysitter, and deep down, he kind of wishes he'd never been broken out of prison. Tarantino usually isn't a great actor, but maybe the reason he plays such a good sociopath is because he is one. How else could he have come up with some of the insane ideas he has in the past? Harvey Keitel plays the former-priest father of the family the Gekkos kidnap, and he does it pretty well despite the cliched character. The action for the third act of this film is unbelievably gory, and I really enjoyed it a lot. The vampires genuinely look like monsters, which is something that the tween vampire Twilight cult seems to have forgotten. Overall, if you're expecting something as textured as Inglourious Basterds, you'll be disappointed. However, if you're expecting gritty B-movie style horror film, it will exceed your expectations.
B+
The acting in this film, for the most part, is phenomenal. George Clooney plays Seth Gekko, who was broken out of prison by his brother Richie, played by Tarantino himself. While Seth is the sort of calm and smooth criminal who plays everything cool, and draws such a great line of friendly intimidation. You know that he'd rather nobody get hurt, but if he has to, he will not hesitate to cut you down like any other schmuck. A friend of mine once told me that Clooney can't really act, but that he's naturally that awesome in his day to day life. I feel somewhat inclined to believe him, but at the same time, he did choose to be in The American. So I believe that he can act, and he's on top of his game in this film.
As for Seth's brother Richie, he's pretty much a sociopath. Seth constantly has to watch over him like a babysitter, and deep down, he kind of wishes he'd never been broken out of prison. Tarantino usually isn't a great actor, but maybe the reason he plays such a good sociopath is because he is one. How else could he have come up with some of the insane ideas he has in the past? Harvey Keitel plays the former-priest father of the family the Gekkos kidnap, and he does it pretty well despite the cliched character. The action for the third act of this film is unbelievably gory, and I really enjoyed it a lot. The vampires genuinely look like monsters, which is something that the tween vampire Twilight cult seems to have forgotten. Overall, if you're expecting something as textured as Inglourious Basterds, you'll be disappointed. However, if you're expecting gritty B-movie style horror film, it will exceed your expectations.
B+
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