Pulp Fiction is one of the most groundbreaking movies of all time. When it was released in 1994, it felt like a shot of adrenaline in American filmmaking, with a distinct style and vibe that was unlike anything else that was around at the time. It helped cement Quentin Tarantino as the most exciting filmmaker of his generation and inspired countless copycat films.
All these years later, many fans still count it as Tarantino’s best movie, and it has been praised as one of the best of the ’90s. But revisiting the wild crime film after all these years, does it really stand the test of time? Here are some ways Pulp Fiction has aged well and some ways it hasn’t.
Aged Well: Performances
It is very rare that there is a dull performance in a Tarantino movie, and Pulp Fiction might boast the best cast of his entire career. All of his usual casting choices are here — new talents are introduced, old stars get a comeback role, and big movie stars embrace their wilder side.
Everyone in the movie is doing their best work. John Travolta is totally cool as the hitman Vincent Vega; Uma Thurman is electric and mesmerizing as Mia Wallace; and Samuel L. Jackson steals the show as the killer turned man of God, Jules Winnfield.
Aged Poorly: Captain Koons’ Monologue
Among the stunning cast of the film is Christopher Walken as Captain Koons. Although it is a small role, Walken already proved in True Romance that he can crush a single scene role if given some good Tarantino dialogue to work with.
Walken’s memorable scene has him playing a military man delivering a watch from his fallen comrade to the dead man’s son. It starts as a powerful speech then takes a hilariously absurd left turn. While the speech is still great and Walken is still excellent in his role, the actor’s more recent persona as the kooky, oddball guy takes away a bit of the fun from the scene.
Aged Well: Retro Feel
There’s a neat aspect about Pulp Fiction in that its setting is sort of timeless. By every indication, it could take place in the mid-90s but there are not a lot of glaring details that set it at that particular time.
Instead, the fashion, the references and the style of the movie make it feel like it could be taking place a few decades earlier. The fact that this is a conscious decision on Tarantino’s part makes the film feel as relevant now as it did when it was released, without anything from the era sticking out as being dated.
Aged Poorly: The Girlfriend Characters
There has been a lot of talk about how Tarantino treats female characters. While he received some criticism for the lack of dialogue Sharon Tate gets in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, you can point to a number of his female characters as being complex, intelligent and capable people.
However, in Pulp Fiction, there is an unpleasant theme showing how male characters treat their female partners. Marsellus Wallace pawns his wife off like an object; Lance orders and bosses his girlfriend around; Butch calls his girlfriend names and treats her like she is stupid. There might be a reason that women are treated so poorly in the movie, but the intention is not made clear.
Aged Well: Jack Rabbit Slim’s
In a movie that is filled with unforgettable sequences, the extended scene at the Jack Rabbit Slim’s restaurant is probably the most iconic. The set-up of Vincent taking his boss’ wife out for dinner is intriguing enough, but the entire sequence is so brilliant.
From the idea of the restaurant to the sharp and real dialogue to the performance, everything is pitch-perfect. And of course, it all leads to the famous and wildly fun moment where Vincent and Mia let loose on the dance floor together.
Aged Poorly: Five-Dollar Shake
Tarantino has an incredible skill of presented riveting and compelling conversations based around seemingly mundane topics. Pulp Fiction is filled with amazing extended talks about fast food in different countries and the ethics of massages.
During the Jack Rabbit Slim’s sequence, Mia orders a “five-dollar shake,” which gets Vincent wondering how a milkshake could be so expensive. The only problem is that a milkshake in a restaurant nowadays would cost at least five dollars. Suddenly, Vincent’s astonishment seems like an overreaction.
Aged Well: Soundtrack
Another one of Tarantino’s great talents is choosing the perfect music for his movies. The soundtracks to his films are always amazing and Pulp Fiction might be the best of them all. The music holds up especially well within the actual movie.
Tarantino likes to use older songs which helps maintain that retro feel of the film. The explosive opening with " Misirlou" playing over the credits; Al Green crooning as Butch is told to throw his fight; and certainly, the Chuck Berry tune Vincent and Mia dance to. They are all brilliant choices that make the fun of the movie more infectious.
Aged Poorly: Sexual Violence
Pulp Fiction has a reputation for being a very violent movie, but it might just be the way violence is treated in the film that threw audiences off. People are shot and killed so randomly and with such a lack of caring that there is a dark humor to the whole deadly affair. However, it’s harder to laugh at certain sequences.
The sequence in which Butch and Marsellus find themselves captive in Zed’s basement is a deeply disturbing scene. It’s hard to say what Tarantino wants us the think of the sequence, but it is played with a certain comedic edge. However, watching someone being sexually assaulted in such a graphic way just isn’t funny.
Aged Well: Tarantino Dialogue
There are a lot of things that set Tarantino apart from other filmmakers, but his dialogue is often looked at as his most impressive skill. No one can write dialogue like Tarantino, and it makes his characters stand out as unique cinematic creations. It also makes his films endlessly quotable and rewatchable.
The dialogue is Pulp Fiction pops in such a way that it feels almost poetic. There are so many scenes where the dialogue just seeps into your brain. This probably explains why people are still quoting this movie verbatim 15 years after its release.
Aged Poorly: Racist Slurs
Another area in which Tarantino has received a lot of criticism is his use of racist slurs in his films. Tarantino has often defended this by saying the language is authentic to the characters or the time period in question. However, they stand out as particularly unsettling in Pulp Fiction.
Though not used as much as it is in some of his other films, the context for his language is questionable. Tarantino himself plays a character who is meant to be friends with Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) yet openly uses a racial slur in a hostile way. It really seems especially unnecessary in this film.
