Ving Rhames ("Wallace") is the kingpin who provides the loosest of templates for a couple of inter-twining tales that are amusing, bizarre and sometimes down right dangerous before we get a sort of alignment at the conclusion. "Winnfield" (Samuel L. Jackson) and "Vincent Vega" (John Travolta) are a pair of dapper enforcers, despatched to retrieve a stolen briefcase. Though their manner may be precise, the execution of their tasks are usually more hit and miss, definitely messy - and frequently requiring of the specialist clean-up services of "Mr. Wolf" (Harvey Keitel). "Vega" is also charged by his boss with looking after his cocaine-loving wife "Mia" (Uma Thurman) and that flirts with dancing and disaster too. Meantime, ageing boxer "Butch" (Bruce Willis) is supposed to help the boss by taking an early dive in a fight. Instead he manages to kill his opponent! Soon he is intent on fleeing town, well at least he tries before he and "Wallace" end up being the playthings of some interesting characters who keep their own leather-clad gimp locked in a box... It's really difficult to make sense of the narrative in writing. It flows really well, but at differing speeds and in several different directions at once. The stories are violent but delivered in an almost tongue-in cheek way. The dance between "Mia" and "Vega" has become the stuff of cinema legend; there is loads of chemistry - especially between Travolta and an on form Jackson who really does deliver his biblical verses with a puritanical - an lethal - zeal; Willis is as good here as he ever was and you cannot but feel sorry for poor old "Pumpkin" (Tim Roth) and his pal "Honey Bunny" (Amanda Plummer) whose habit of committing petty robberies when they realise that nobody ever thinks to hit a restaurant, all goes awry. The dialogue is cleverly targeted, with wit and pith but also used sparingly when the first rate soundtrack is allowed to let everyone come up for air. Tarantino himself features towards the end as just about everybody gets their just desserts. This is a classy and sharp piece of enigmatic and enjoyable cinema held together well by a creative and visionary director who appreciates how to get the best of a cast that know how to entertain!
