Probably the least Tarantino joint in his filmography, as well as the only screenplay he adapted from someone else's work. That's not a criticism at all, more of an observation. The guy's fingerprints are still present on every frame (snappy dialogue, sleazy atmosphere, rabid profanity, crime-addled treachery, etc.) but the hallmarks feel comparatively diluted. Woefully absent is the in-your-face carnage, the nonlinear chronology, the chapter-based narrative structure, and most telling —the syringe full of adrenaline that juices most of his work and makes QT the talk of the town.

Wait, QT actually made a normal film? About real people? Having, uh, real feelings? Wild. 

JACKIE BROWN, Tarantino's homage to the blaxploitation genre, moves at a much more leisurely pace, is quieter, smarter, tamer by comparison, offsets signature gore with an unusual streak of romantic sentiment, and above all, wields characters who are actually grounded and relatable (as opposed to off the wall nuts).

You can still tell this is QT's baby, it's just a baby that's matured and grown up (a teensy bit) since his previous two efforts. It's a story about cunning survival, about outwitting everyone around you, and where positioning yourself with brains and guts means avoiding jail time or death, and perhaps gaining a fat bag of cash. 

I love how unpredictable the story becomes, especially when it edges towards its Rashomon-like climax, but the film as a whole is a convoluted labyrinth of words. Classic QT. Only here it's like keeping up with Sorkin on crack. It may not be PULP FICTION (1994) level psycho-babble, but the dialogue still finds a way to shoot off these characters lips like speed injected into the veins. Pummel the dialogue now with a series of blurred plot points, multiple conspiracies, characters galore with intricate deceits, and a runtime that suffers from being unquestionably too long, and it all just sorta starts to feel a little…much. 

Lastly, if QT spent an entire film resurrecting John Travolta's career by turning him into this nasty-ass, long-haired, Royale-with-cheese-eating hitman with an appetite for dope and butchery, why on earth did he resurrect the queen of Blaxploitation, Pam Grier, and not give her a major ass-kicking, Foxy-Brown throwback moment? Asking for a friend.

Tarantino Ranked