I'm pretty sure this is only the 3rd time I have watched
Natural Born Killers. The 1st time was on opening day when it was released, the 2nd time was when I got it on DVD when it first came out and the 3rd time of course would be tonight. I will say that I disappointed at the end result the first time around. Even though I understood what
Oliver Stone was trying to say with the style of film making he deployed, I still hated the movie. Back then, this was a huge departure from what I would call 'normal Hollywood film making'. This was straight up an experimental film, even though
Stone had used this type of editing and image placement before (see JFK for a hint of what was to come)....but never to this degree.
I picked up the DVD in spite of hated the film thinking it would be better. It really was only marginally better, but certainly something I had never intended to watch again. The only reason why I chose to give this one a spin again, the first time in probably 15 years, was there wasn't anything else for me to watch. So, how about now? An improvement? Yes and no. I actually found the movie to actually play a lot smoother because in the time away from this movie, I have seen more experimental types of films, most notably by Tony Scott, and
Natural Born Killers actually comes off as pretty "normal" by comparison. By that I mean it's easier to digest now.
The story (by
Quentin Tarantino) was always interesting in how the Media is just as guilty as two serial killers on the loose. When they choose to sensationalize murder for ratings, how are they any different from
Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and
Mallory (Juliette Lewis)? The more they kill, the bigger their ratings get and deep down inside, the media wants more and secret wish it to continue, even if they don't come right out and admit it to anyone. Hell, the movie itself is doing the same thing that the Media is guilty of. I thought casting
Robert Downey Jr. as a sleazy Prime-time Magazine reporter was great and he was by far the most entertaining thing here. Same can be said for
Tommy Lee Jones and
Rodney Dangerfield as well. Worth a
Rent.