On the face of it there is so much to love here, the dialogue, the hotties, so many good tunes, the cars, the lapdance. But that third act leaves me with a sense of wasted opportunity.
Are we supposed to take the finale as feminist avengers? These dumb women left their friend to be raped in a trade for a joyride.
I walked out of this one in the theater. Not one of Tarantino's better efforts.
shareI doubt he’s going to rape a girl from a party of 4, the other 3 of which are due back any moment and know who he is and where he lives. He’d have to murder all of them and hide their bodies, and I don’t think he’s a serial killer.
That said, it is somewhat careless to leave your ‘friend’ in that situation, but remember these aren’t the most compassionate bunch of gals - a motorcyclist flies off his bike and slams into a structure thanks to our ‘heroines’ improvised revenge mission, likely killing or maiming himself. The black one doesn’t seem to care about Zoe’s life, rather than pull over and let Zoe off, she speeds along while a psycho is bashing their car, putting Zoe in relentless mortal danger.
Finally, they go after Stuntman Mike like a pack of bloodthirsty dogs hunting a fox. Sure, he smashed into their car a few times, but in response they pursue him, beat him within an inch of his life, then Abby caves his face into his skull.
Tarantino loves shifting sympathies, and he’s definitely trying to make you sympathise with Mike in the second half, and makes you somewhat uncomfortable for cheering on this morally questionable second batch of ‘victims’.