User reviews

Question: is this a great film or one of the biggest missed opportunities in movie history? Having heard both sides of the argument in recent days, it's little wonder that it has taken me the best part of a week after viewing to reach this conclusion (if you can call it that). Given that it has possibly one of the best casts ever assembled, a typically brash and brilliant script from Quentin Tarantino and a veteran of countless action movies at the helm, this really should have been one of the best films ever made and perhaps, if Tarantino had kept his hands on it, it might have been. Instead, we have an incredibly slick and entertaining crime film that I felt needed a bit more pace and consistency to become a true classic.

In arguably his best film, Christian Slater plays Clarence who is an odd-beat loser working in a run-down comic shop in Detroit with an unhealthy interest in Elvis. After meeting the beautiful call-girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette), they both fall hopelessly in love and the newly-motivated Clarence decides to free Alabama from the grip of her pimp Drexel (Gary Oldman). But stumbling across a suitcase full of cocaine, Clarence decides to take the drugs to Hollywood and fund their new lives together. But unfortunately, the Mob are hot on their heels and soon discover what our lovestruck heroes have planned...

This really is classic Tarantino territory - a contemporary crime thriller with tonnes of funky dialogue, more big-name actors than the entire "Oceans" trilogy and oodles of retro charm. And yet, "True Romance" certainly doesn't feel like a Tarantino film - the pace is all wrong (it feels much slower than "Pulp Fiction", despite being shorter in length) and dare I say it, I found myself losing interest. But just when I was about to give up, somebody new steps into shot and delivers another faultless performance. I have rarely seen acting of such quality from so many individuals, despite the fact that most are only in for a couple of scenes at best. Personally, I found James Gandolfini's portrayal of a Mob hit-man utterly convincing and it certainly ensured he'd be typecast for the rest of his career. Hell, even Val Kilmer doesn't suck! But all the time, I found myself wondering how truly brilliant this film might have been if Tarantino had never sold it. I understand his reasons why - I'd forgive almost anything for giving us "Pulp Fiction" - but I feel Tony Scott didn't quite know what to do with it. Exhibit A - the ill-judged and misplaced scene on the roller-coaster.

It's not that "True Romance" is a bad film because it isn't and I'd happily watch it again sometime. But I just feel that Scott wasn't the right director, although he has worked miracles with the cast who are all supremely good. PBs for Kilmer, Slater and Arquette while Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper share one of the all-time great scenes like two giant beasts tearing each other to shreds. But "True Romance" isn't the bone-fide classic some people think it is. It's too slow and the ending is far too predictable, ruining what should have been an absolute stonker of a movie. And it should have be - all the ingredients were in place with the exception of the director. So is this a great crime film or a wasted chance? Personally, I think greatness has slipped through our fingers.

This is a film that doesn't crop up as much when discussing Tarantino's filmography. It doesn't live up to the rest of the films he's done but at the same time, True Romance is a fun experience.

True Romance follows Clarence Worley, who falls in love and marries call girl Alabama Whitman. He manages to steal cocaine from her pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood whilst the owners of the cocaine try to reclaim it.

Despite not being a Tarantino directed film, True Romance very much has the same energy as one and it's mainly due to Tarantino's terrific screenplay. The dialogue is, as you would expect from a script by Quentin Tarantino, fantastic with some scenes where it really stands out and the way each actor delivers them allows those scenes to be even better. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are amazing here and do have great chemistry with one another despite how quick their relationship develops. I honestly couldn't recognise Gary Oldman as Drexl but he delivered an insane performance. Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken star in one of the film's most memorable and riveting scenes where both actors shine. Brad Pitt has a short role here but provides a lot of the humour.

Tony Scott, director of Top Gun, has directed the film and does add a lot of style to it. This is a film that is over the top and feels very 90s which, looking at it now, does make True Romance seem a tad outdated. I wish the story had more substance to it and the way it ended seemed quite rushed and didn't work with me completely.

Despite that I think the film is still an entertaining venture. There are some really fun and memorable moments with phenomenal performances from the entire cast. It's wild, violent and overall an entertaining watch even though it has its flaws.

I LOVE True Romance. Its a simple yet effective movie with amazing moments and characters that make me happy to watch film. The plot includes the classic traction twist and twirls with many minor characters who ultimately have a lasting effect on all the characters. Some people who aren't really important exude personality and charisma and makes the viewer want to watch a whole film about them (Gary Oldmans, Christopher Walkens and Brad Pits characters come to mind). The film feels cohesive (to me) and employs funny differentiations to other films on similar subject matters: drug deals (the Dr Zhivago conversation is one of my favorites), violence, romance, friendship, family, trust, loyalty are all important themes that are explored throughout whiteout a flaw. I felt invested into Clarence's plight throughout and felt rewarded for my diligence and interest. Please watch it and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Yes. It's a good film, but I don't really know that it justifies quite the accolades or the overall score that it's received here. Are there perhaps fanbois - devotees of the work of Tarantino, or Christian Slater or any of the dozen or so famous and talented contributors who are rating what they think these people can do, rather than what they actually have done - in this film - here?

The basic story is fairly simple: Clarence and Alabama are thrown together - almost by chance - and they fall for each other. They also come - again more or less by chance - to find themselves in possession of a suitcase full of cocaine. A true romance grows - between the man, the woman and the illicit wealth...

Some of the acting is top notch and some of the episodes in the tale are entertaining. The whole though, is a little disjointed: strong gory violence and drug taking are pretty much ubiquitous and just about the deepest message of the story is that some people get lucky while some notorious criminals and law enforcers can be absurdly incompetent and trigger-happy.

Take, for instance the scene between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper. Perhaps these are impressive performances but the scene is both violent and exceptionally racist - and all for nothing. The plot motivation behind the racism is comparatively clear, but does that make it justified? Not for me. And does the scene advance the plot? Only really in the last couple of seconds, and only in a way that has been trailed far too obviously about five minutes earlier.

We still have to wait a further fifteen minutes - about an hour into the movie - before things get going properly in a long scene between Patricia Arquette and James Gandolfini.

By all means watch the film - enjoy the film - but don't forget that violence and drug-taking and racism have consequences - and not just for other people. In the real world, the central actors are more often damaged too.

Overall 6.5/10

For this time, this was pretty good, but viewed after the passage of time, you can see all of the affectations that Tarantino puts into all of his stuff here in the early stages (old movie talk, violent shoot outs, etc). That's not to say this is a bad movie, it's well made, with lots of stars in bit parts and is well shot, but it's hardly an all time great. Arquette has zero character other than loving Slater and dressing "quirky" while Slater's character is just a Tarantino clone who loves Elvis. Everyone else is pretty much a trope, and that works out fine for a genre movie, but it's certainly not anything deeper or better. For Tony Scott, its one of his best though.

True Romance is a fun, entertaining and full of ride movie. Quite a Tarantino film you can say. If anyone would have told me this film was directed by him, I would have probably believed them.

Starring the lovely couple duo Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, along with an assemble of other great actors. This odd romance film is a pleasant surprise for anyone who whishes to watch a romance story with some bits of action and violence that only Tarantino can deliver.

I would even extend and say this movie reminded me of Baby Driver (2017), one of my all-time favorite movies. Maybe Baby was inspired by True Romance.

The script manages to swift the audience throughout the whole story: starting with what seems as a simple love tale, leading to a crime and murder, following a chase around the country and a journey for freedom.

Another element implanted into the story are the characters being film buffs and pop culture nerds, whenever there is a movie reference or a conversation about movies you can feel that it's Tarantino's writing style, a style that I love so much and wish to make myself one day.

Overall I really enjoyed this film and think it's a nice mixture between love and violence, the kind of mixture I didn't know Quentin can write but glad he did.

I'm a fond of Porsche cars and in this film you can see one stunning example of flat nose 911 turbo! Then, you can find lot of very famous actors and two very famous directors. Plot is noting serious about. This is a real "just for fun" movie. If you want to have some fun this is the one! If you want some serious stuff...no! Anyway, it's a good film.

Some dialogues are hilarious and timeless. What about gore? Yes there it is. So much blood, drugs, guns, even Sicilian mafia isn't absent. A perfect mix for a weekend movie without children. I do not recommend the movie to children. It's really a violent movie.

It was a fun romantic movie with some really hardcore violence once in a while and a true Tarantino piece with the dialogue.

It was a nice little Love Story and I could really feel the love between the characters and I could truly see that he was a kind of nerdy trip kind of guy from the 90s. I can totally get why one of my friends fell in love with this movie when he was 20.

But the character acting just steal the show all these talented actors playing kooky characters is just so much fun and Tarantino dialogue makes it so that you cannot look away if you're not into Tarantino dialogue, then you are not gonna have fun because some of the monologues are really long.

The story feels like some self-insert movie Guy stuff and I respected and love it. It's just so fun seeing people put themselves in this story. We I mean I can totally see myself in the main character when he's dreaming about his sexy woman get into his life and he's just a comic book guy I can understand why people get related to it. Just by that.

Just a nice solid movie that is not too long and flies by when the plot gets going.

Engaging, funny violent crime movie with excellent acting by Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, James Gondolfini and Brad Pitt.

It's a fun adventure action comedy. As for romance part it's not your stereotypical romance. It's weird to see a mixure between crazy and romantic, I think it nails it pretty well, still it could have been more than a fun movie.

Knowing this film was written by Tarantino, it was a no-brainer that it would be violent and rich in dialogue. It also seemed like a strange title since Tarantino has never directed a romance story, and this movie is only devoted to the titular romance at certain moments. Rather than focusing on the actual romance, this film primarily focuses on the aftermath of Clarence's decision to "rescue" Alabama from her pimp. What I mean by this is that the movie is driven by the fact that people are after Clarence once he steals some cocaine as well as by Clarence's sense of freedom by sitting on a fortune as long as he sells the coke. The romance is something that compliments this story.

When the romance is actually given attention in the film it proves to be interesting. Clarence learns that Alabama is a prostitute who his boss had hired to show Clarence a good time on his birthday, and this makes no difference to his feelings for Alabama. She is touched that he genuinely had a good time with her - the greatest time he has had with a girl in his whole life. Sex is not the deciding factor here; Clarence loves Alabama for who she is, what she loves, her comforting presence. Perhaps this is the meaning of the title - the romance is formed regardless of the situation of how the two met. The two are together throughout the movie, but it is a shame that most of the film focuses on the crime Clarence becomes involved in rather than the dynamics of this relationship.

This movie is made up of a stellar cast, and it is a shame that a good amount of recognizable names are only in the film very briefly. Though Tarantino only wrote this film we see a lot of faces found in films which he directed: Brad Pitt, Samuel L Jackson, Christopher Walken, and Chris Penn. Christian Slater as Clarence is a perfect fit for the role though he is not a well-known actor. He adds great personality to Clarence who is a true Tarantino character, defined by his taste in pop culture, as well as just a touch of craziness to make his desperation believable.

Perhaps it is because this film is directed by Tony Scott and not Tarantino, but True Romance is a decent story which lacks Tarantino- level energy, especially in its action sequences. True Romance is a fun experience if you keep in mind it is a screenplay by Tarantino in his early days.

3.0/4.0

Surely, it can't be denied that it's an excellent film and Tarantino's touch is clearly recognizable. However, let's say the final part left me a bit bewildered-perhaps because it didn't quite stick to the film's original premise and had evolved too much by the end. Other than that, nothing to complain about-it's a beautiful and well-made film, it's just a pity about the ending.

72/100

True Romance explodes with energy, style, and passion - a film that perfectly captures the raw intensity of 90s cinema. Quentin Tarantino's script is full of sharp wit, ironic humor, and unpredictable violence, while Tony Scott's direction turns that roughness into something visually slick and cinematic. The result is a love story soaked in blood, where Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette radiate chemistry that feels reckless yet genuine. Their romance is dangerous but magnetic, pulling the audience straight into their madness.

The film balances extremes - tenderness against cruelty, chaos against control. Its characters live on the edge, constantly switching between innocence and brutality. Yet it's this contrast that keeps True Romance alive, making it both a violent crime movie and a strangely touching love story. The cinematography shines with bold color choices and vivid movement, reflecting the feverish energy of the story itself.

Unique detail: Despite being directed by Tony Scott, the movie's spirit feels undeniably Tarantino - his writing fingerprints are everywhere, especially in the legendary "Sicilian scene," which remains one of the most iconic dialogue sequences in film history.

Sympathetic Clarence (Christian Slater) is a Detroit comic-store assistant and charming Alabama (Patricia Arquette) is an attractive call girl. Then geeky Clarence and wide-eyed prostitute Alabama meet at a cinema and fall instantly in love and subsequent marriage. The inept duo inadvertantly robs her pimp's drug (Gary Oldman) and they head to L. A. with the coke mobsters in pursuit. Pausing only to bid farewell to his drunkard dad, Police Clifford (Dennis Hopper). But the couple's get-rich-quick plans go awry when suave but at the same time monstrous boss Coccotti (Christopher Walken) tries to persuade Clifford to divulge his son's whereabouts. Meantime, the happy couple has dreams of selling their booty to a hophead Hollywood producer (Saul Rubinek).

Horrific violence mixed with very black humor clicks most of the time. Quentin Tarantino helped finance "Reservior Dogs" when he sold this screenplay, his first and there's an unrated version also available as well. If the romance seldom seems 'true', the spiralling violence does succeed, in a brutish, excessive kind of way. Resulting to be an offbeat, action-packed thriller with a star-studded cast and made in style by Tony Scott. The orgy of sadism and violence that follows after stealing millions of cocaine is like an old-fashioned comedy with adult certificate. The main entertaining of the movie is discover the secondary actor to appear in the next frame, most of them playing small characters, including the following: Christopher Walken as an icily debonair mafioso; Dennis Hopper as an ex-cop, Clarence's dad, who runs afoul of Walken; Brad Pitt as a space-case druggie; Gary Oldman as a crazed pimp; Val Kilmer as the ghost of Elvis Presley, among others. These actors deliver nice acting, but their performances are pitched at high-decibel level and their roles are all dislikeable.

The motion picture was well directed by Tony Scott, following his peculiar style. He's helped by a good cameraman, Jeffrey Kimball, who displays a colorful and brilliant cinematography, along with the catching musical score by prestigious Hans Zimmer, including a catching leitmotif, composed by synthesizer. Tony Scott alonside his brother, the famous producer/director Ridley Scott, founded a successful film production called Scott-Free Productions. Director Tony Scott has made various successful films, such as: "The Hunger", "Top Gun", "Beverly Hills cop 2", "Revenge", "Day of thunder", "The last Boy Scout", "Crimson Tide", "The Enemy of the State", "The fan", "Enemy of the state", "Spy game", "Man of fire", "Domino", and "Dejá Vu", this was his last one, because he committed suicide in 2012, jumping from a bridge.

'True Romance' probably wasn't the best choice to watch in honour of Val Kilmer's passing, considering he's barely in it and when he is they hide his face from shot. Still, I'm glad I finally got around to seeing it.

What an incredible cast this movie has. As I was watching the opening credits I couldn't believe my eyes, as superstar name after superstar name kept coming up. Most of them only get a very small amount of screentime, but almost all of them absolutely kill it in the scene they're given.

This is a movie that I would've really loved to see what Quentin Tarantino could have done in the directing chair. I know he wrote it, but it is still missing the touch he brings when he is in full control. He could've turned something good into something great. 7/10.

Quentin Tarantino is unquestionably one of the most accomplished writers ever to have graced the film industry, however this early effort fails to reflect his unparalleled craftsmanship. In fact, only a single scene throughout the entire picture feels reminiscent of his distinctive style . The aforementioned scene also happens to be the highlight of the motion picture, barely keeping afloat the unremarkable content beneath.

This movie was around for 25 years old before I ever got around to seeing it. It's possibly the most violent movie I've ever seen (my wife left the room). I also saw the ending coming from about halfway through (and I'm nobody's genius). BUT... still a great work of fun pulp. Great actors make it even more fun. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it, although it would rank near as highly on my all-time list as it seems to for many of the other imdb users.

My Rating : 7/10

I've only heard about 'True Romance' because of internet users giving it praise. It's full of character actors such as Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, James Gandolfini, Michael Rapaport, Val Kilmer and there's Brad Pitt in it too as a couch potato roommate/stoner guy. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette make for a quirky couple and carry the film well on their shoulders.

It's a typical Tarantino flick (he's the screenplay writer after all) with loads of action, violence, drugs, cussing and a love story thrown in for good measure.

If you don't mind a bit of action and violence give this a go.

It's interesting to note that this same screenplay spawned 'Natural Born Killers' the year after 'True Romance' was released. I love that movie to pieces and it has a lot more to say than this one, but that should not be taken as an affront to an enjoyable film- which is exactly what 'True Romance' is. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette are Clarence and Alabama Worley, two relative innocents- a comic-book store clerk and a call girl- who fall in love after his boss hires her to sleep with him. He develops an instant hatred for her pimp, so he puts a gun in his sock and goes to visit. Her pimp is Drexl, played by Gary Oldman as a half frighteningly realistic and half laughable 'wigger'. A shootout commences, from which Clarence flees with a suitcase filled not with Alabama's things as he had though, but with cocaine. He realizes he and Alabama could definately use the kind of money that can be made off selling it, so they skip town and head to L.A. after briefly visiting his dad. From there they get mixed up with a famous actor named Elliott, an aspiring one named Dick, Dick's pothead couch potato roommate, Floyd, and a whole gallery of folks who want them dead. 'True Romance' ends well but goes at a fast clip and feels shorter than what it is- for one thing, the time is never taken to develop the sense of inevitability of love between Clarence and Alabama that was created between Mickey and Mallory Knox. Nonetheless, Christian Slater is enjoyable as a guy who knows he's in over his head but is trying to do his best in the situation, and Patricia Arquette has one of her best roles in that guy's cute, not-as-dumb-as-she-seems wife. Her scene with the goon sent to collect the cocaine from their hotel room is both nauseating (who wants to see our heroine get her face bashed in?) and terrific, (how often do you get to see a woman win a brawl this nasty in the movies?) and from it and her ending voice-over, you know that this woman is a survivor through and through. Fun, well-done, and fast-paced, 'True Romance' is a worthy companion film to 'NBK' or, indeed, just about any of the other movies Tarantino has scripted.

I used to love watching action movies that talk about relationships, like Bonnie and Clyde for example, but getting this pitch with Quentin Tarantino's writing was very pleasant and pretty fun, honestly!!!

The script is very good: you follow the adventure of two lovebirds out "to make money," and the story is cool to discover throughout. The lines from QT are still fun and nice, and the characters are endearing. Some scenes are iconic, and the action was very entertaining and cool to watch!!!

The directing and shots from the director were cool - good job right there - with a nice soundtrack from the future GOAT Hans Zimmer. The tracks dropped at the right times to give some emotion, and not a lot of filmmakers do it that well!!!

Overall, the cast played well, a little less for me the girl... I know, I know, You're such a fan of Miss Arquette, but it's my opinion...

But nice to see Brad Pitt as an extra before he became what he is today, wow...

Basically, a nice movie to watch for fun, with some of the greatest and funniest lines from QT as always!!!

True Romance is one of my favorite movies. In actuality, the only reason I ever watched it is because of Brad Pitt's character Floyd, the lazy stoner who sits on the couch watching TV all day. If for that reason, I could give it 8 stars I would, but I think it's best left where it stands.

The movie is about a guy who works in a video store, and on his birthday his employer buys him a hooker. They fall in love, and he kills her pimp, and steals his cocaine too. They flee, and the gangsters chase. He tried to sell the cocaine to a famous film producer, and everyone dies at the end, except the man character and his wife, the hooker.

Now this is a really cool movie. Everything about it is just cool. I may not have expressed it as much, but the story is very well written. I am not too keen on the directing, but Val Kilmer plays Elvis and Christopher Walken plays a gangster. Can't get much better than this!

7 Stars

"True Romance" is an intentionally ironic title for a film so soaked in blood. Christian Slater plays Clarence, a film geek who instantly falls in love and marries a call girl, Alabama (Patricia Arquette). The set-up, while intriguing, is so entirely unbelievable that it becomes hard to invest in the fate of these characters. Clarence, visited by the spirit of Elvis, decides he must save Alabama from the life of a call girl and confronts his pimp (Gary Oldman, in quite a bit of makeup). Believing he is her savior, Clarence demands Alabama be set free. Violence ensues. Clarence accidentally ends up with a suitcase of cocaine, which drives the plot of the movie.

While the movie is filled with many well-known names, some are underused, and many characters are left undeveloped. Aside from a fantastic scene with Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper, the rest is mediocre. Yes, there is signature Tarantino violence (directed by Tony Scott), but here, the resulting chaos seems too contrived to actually be a true romance.