History YMMV / ReservoirDogs

* HarsherInHindsight: In an ironic moment, Mr. Pink declares that out of all the robbers, Mr. Blond is the only one he completely trusts due to the latter's cold-blooded murder of a young black girl during the robbery. Pink believes this is proof Blond isn't an undercover policeman because a cop would never do that. Cut to the late 2010s, when scandals involving police murdering unarmed, defenseless black people become regular events in the news.

** Did Mr. White [[spoiler:shoot Mr. Orange]] to stop his suffering from his obviously fatal wounds? Did he do it because he felt betrayed by the revelation that [[spoiler:Orange was an undercover cop and his protecting him caused the death of several longtime friends?]] Was it [[spoiler:SuicideByCop]]? Or all three?

* CompleteMonster: [[AxCrazy Vic Vega]], also known as [[SoftSpokenSadist Mr. Blonde]], despite his [[DissonantSerenity apparently calm and clear-headed demeanor]], is a callous and psychopathic criminal who makes even his own partners-in-crime wary. Employed for a simple bank robbery, Mr. Blonde went on a rampage when one of the tellers set off an alarm, gunning down several innocent people, an action which even horrified his fellow criminals. After being left alone with a police officer he had kidnapped after the massacre, Mr. Blonde proceeds to torture him for his own amusement, slashing his face and cutting off his ear, all while singing and dancing to "[[SoundtrackDissonance Stuck in the Middle With You]]" by Stealers Wheel, before dousing him in gasoline and trying to set him on fire. In a movie [[BlackAndGrayMorality filled with hardened criminals]], Mr. Blonde stands out as a violent and sadistic psychopath.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film was released in America with almost no promotion, so it did not do that well at the box office. In England, however, it was such a huge hit that Creator/QuentinTarantino would be mobbed as he walked down the street in London. (The fact that [[TooSoon a home video release had to be put on the backburner on account of the James Bulger controversy]] certainly helped matters.) British filmmakers have been "influenced" by it since.

** While talking about "Like a Virgin", Mr. Brown mentions Creator/CharlesBronson in ''Film/TheGreatEsacape''. Tarantino's ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'' features a clip from that film, with Rick Dalton playing Virgil Hilts.

* DesignatedVillain: Mr. Pink in the tipping scene; in the film he's treated and called out like an asshole for not tipping, however some people [[JerkassHasAPoint would probably agree with his views]] due to the BrokenBase on tipping in real life.

* CompleteMonster: [[AxCrazy Vic Vega]], also known as [[SoftSpokenSadist Mr. Blonde]], despite his [[DissonantSerenity apparently calm and clear-headed demeanor]], is a callous and psychopathic criminal who makes even his own partners-in-crime wary. A flashback during the movie reveals that Vega had a history of raping "punks" in prison. Employed for a simple bank robbery, Mr. Blonde went on a rampage when one of the tellers set off an alarm, gunning down several innocent people, an action which even horrified his fellow criminals. After being left alone with a police officer he had kidnapped after the massacre, Mr. Blonde proceeds to torture him for his own amusement, slashing his face and cutting off his ear, all while singing and dancing to "[[SoundtrackDissonance Stuck in the Middle With You]]" by Stealers Wheel, before dousing him in gasoline and trying to set him on fire. In a movie [[BlackAndGrayMorality filled with hardened criminals]], Mr. Blonde stands out as a violent and sadistic psychopath.

* MemeticMutation: The "world's smallest violin" scene.

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Mr. Blonde. ''1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'' aptly described Creator/MichaelMadsen's performance as "creepily mesmerising."

** In a deleted scene, Mr. White is mentioned to have crossed it by killing three people just because someone who had worked on a job with him was a cop. [[spoiler:This foreshadows the violent conclusion which results from Mr. Orange confessing he's a cop.]]

** Really, Mr. Blonde? You think it's a good idea to kidnap a cop, [[EarAche torture him]], then try to set him on ''fire'', all while you and the rest of your partners are wanted for a bank robbery that left several people dead, ''THANKS TO YOU'' ?! If you've lit that fire, the movie would have been over already...

%% ** Nowadays people will be fighting over who wants to be called Mr. Pink. || Why??

* CompleteMonster: [[AxCrazy Vic Vega]], also known as [[SoftSpokenSadist Mr. Blonde]], despite his [[DissonantSerenity apparently calm and clear-headed demeanor]], is a callous and psychopathic criminal who makes even his own partners-in-crime wary. A flashback during the movie reveals that Vega had a history of [[PrisonRape raping "punks" in prison]]. Employed for a simple jewellery store robbery, Mr. Blonde went on a rampage when one of the tellers set off an alarm, gunning down several innocent people, an action which even [[EvenEvilHasStandards horrified his fellow criminals]]. After being left alone with a police officer he had kidnapped after the massacre, Mr. Blonde proceeds to [[ColdBloodedTorture torture him]] [[ForTheEvulz for his own amusement]], slashing his face and [[EarAche cutting off his ear]], all while singing and dancing to "[[SoundtrackDissonance Stuck in the Middle With You]]" by Stealers Wheel, before dousing him in gasoline and trying to [[ManOnFire set him on fire]]. In a movie [[BlackAndGrayMorality filled with hardened criminals]], Mr. Blonde stands out as a violent and {{sadist}}ic [[TheSociopath psychopath]].

---> '''Pink:''' This is bad, this is bad, this is bad..."
---> '''Pink looks at the injured Orange, then at White:''' Is it bad?

** Nowadays people will be fighting over who wants to be called Mr. Pink.

* WTHCastingAgency: Some of the replacement voice actors are... a little out there, namely Creator/ScottMenville and Creator/KharyPayton (aka [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans Robin and Cyborg]]) as Mr. Orange and Mr. Blue.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: ''Reservoir Dogs'' is considered Tarantino's first great work but some people loathe this movie for the similarities between it and the 1987 ''City on Fire'', even calling it a complete rip-off as Tarantino never credited Lam. Tarantino at first denied he had seen the movie when called out on the similarities [[LyingCreator but then revealed he was actually a big fan - he even had a poster of it in his room]]. Many have lambasted Dogs for [[OlderThanTheyThink not being as original as its fans think]] and there is even an [[http://www.impossiblefunky.com/qt/ Anti-Tarantino webpage]].

* CounterpartComparison: The entire plot of the movie bears an uncanny resemblance to the last half hour of Ringo Lam's ''City on Fire''. The two are so similar in fact, that Jeff Dawson published an article for Empire magazine extensively comparing the two scene-by-scene. Writer and filmmaker, Mike White created a short film called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HgbSAL8OKY Who Do You Think You're Fooling?]] with the the two movies bleeding into each other almost completely. Website/RottenTomatoes also created a feature addressing this issue in their "Homage or Stealing?" series.
** Mr. White happens to be a resemblance to Fu from ''City On Fire''. Both men are thieves who get involved in robbing the jewellery store for diamonds. But after their heists goes horribly wrong, both men want to get out of their situation alive and at the same time, bonds with their friend, [[spoiler:who unbeknownst to them, is an undercover cop.]]

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: There's a divide between "Little Green Bag" and "Stuck In The Middle With You."

* {{Narm}}: Mr. Orange's panicked voice, played for drama, fluctuates between high-pitched screeching and gravely lower tones, sounding a bit distractingly like Creator/BobcatGoldthwait's comedic persona. [[spoiler:[[PaintingTheMedium That said, given that Orange is an undercover cop having to put on an act, that may be the point.]]]]

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: ''Reservoir Dogs'' is considered Tarantino's first great work but some people loathe this movie for the similarities between it and the 1987 ''City on Fire'', even calling it a complete rip-off as Tarantino never credited Lam. Tarantino at first denied he had seen the movie when called out on the similarities [[LyingCreator but then revealed he was actually a big fan - he even had a poster of it in his room]]. Many have lambasted Dogs for [[OlderThanTheyThink not being as original as its fans think]] and there is even an [[http://www.impossiblefunky.com/qt/ Anti-Tarantino webpage]].
* WhatAnIdiot: Mr. White at the ending. Look, Mr. Blonde [[AssholeVictim was a dick]] and he deserved [[spoiler: to get shot 10 to 12 times by Mr. Orange]], but he's on your team! Shouldn't you be more concerned that a member of your team was killed? Also, Orange said that Blonde tried to make off with the diamonds, [[BadLiar despite Blonde being a loyal friend of the Cabots.]] And then you pull a gun on Joe despite the overwhelming evidence of Orange [[spoiler: being a rat]].
** Lots of the problems involving Orange would have been solved if he was just sent to the hospital. [[spoiler: On the other hand, this would've totally screwed up both his sting and the thieve's getaway.]]
** Really, Mr. Blonde? You think it's a good idea to kidnap a cop, [[EarAche torture him]], then try to set him on ''fire'', all while you and the rest of your partners are wanted for a bank robbery that left several people dead, ''THANKS TO YOU'' ?! If you lit that fire, the movie would have been over already...
*** Then there's Joe for hiring you in the first place! A [[AxCrazy psychopath]], [[PrisonRape who raped people in prison]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking wears cowboy boots!]]; this heist was doomed even ''without'' TheMole.
** For the whole main cast: ''wearing the suits you're about to go rob a bank with in a public diner''! Even Eddie Bunker, a former criminal who played Mr. Blue, say that was something he would've never done.
----

* HoYay: Mr. Orange and Mr. White in particular, as they get pretty damn emotionally intimate for two people who don't know each other too well (there's even a scene that features a SecurityCling) and also Mr. Blonde and Nice Guy Eddie.
* IronWoobie: Mr. Orange and Marvin Nash both go through a hell of a lot of pain and suffering, but they're still total badasses.
* JerkassWoobie: Mr. White, being the most sympathetic criminal in the film.

** Now, where else have we heard of a sympathetic criminal named [[Series/BreakingBad "Mr. White"]]?

** Mr. Blonde. ''1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die'' aptly described Creator/MichaelMadsen's performance as "creepily mesmerising".
** A lot of fans, as well as casual viewers, name Mr. Pink as their favorite "Mister". Also Music/{{Pink}} allegedly chose her stage name in honour of the character.
* EvilIsSexy: Mr. Blonde. The fact that he's played by Creator/MichaelMadsen certainly helps.

** Was Mr. Blonde always a psychopath? Or did prison really get to him?

* {{Narm}}: Mr. Orange's panicked voice, played for drama, fluctuates between high-pitched screeching and gravely lower tones, sounding a bit distractingly like Creator/BobcatGoldthwait's comedic persona.