Reservoir Dogs is a film that takes a satiric look at itself, at the genre of the caper film and the dynamics of betrayal and the criminal code seen in such films. The film is extremely violent, which for many viewers may mask the satiric thrust of the story and the way the interplay of characters involves a twisted sense of morality, the so-called "honor among thieves" that here is a palpable presence holding together a group of professional criminals who have nothing else to believe in except that they will be able to rely on each other. As the film unfolds, though, they can rely on nothing in a universe of random events over which they have no control.
The story is simple enough: A group of small-time criminals band together under the leadership of a man who has decided how a robbery is to be staged. The robbery itself is never seen in the film or even described clearly. The criminals hold up the bank, but one of their number is actually an undercover policeman who sees to it that the police are waiting. The robbery goes completely wrong, but the "arrest" also goes wrong and the undercover cop is shot. His criminal partner takes him back to the hideout where they are all supposed to return and wait for the boss to bring the money, or in this case some assistance and a doctor. They wait until he finally does show up, and he is convinced that they have been betrayed and that the man who is an undercover cop is the one who betrayed them. The undercover cop's criminal partner, not believing this, defends him and shoots down the boss, getting shot himself in the process. The undercover cop reveals the truth just as the police arrive, and his criminal partner shoots him and is in turn shot himself.
The film has an unusual structure which reinforces the fact that it is a film about other films of the same genre, since it assumes that the viewer will know the form and will be able to fill in the blanks to a great extent. ...