why wasnt Christopher Walkens character in this film more?
he was such a badass and great bad guy. it also means less when in the end the shootout is with some random mafioso. it woulda been great him tracking down Slaters character
shareIt’s a signature style of Tarantino’s….to use big name stars in very small roles, often times in just one scene. (Remember Walken’s very brief scene in Pulp Fiction?)
It’s usually done to great effect. Less is more. A huge star shows up for one scene, NAILS it, and the story moves on.
Consider Gary Oldman’s one scene, as Drexel (the drug dealer). Did we really need him showing up in a bunch of additional scenes? It would have watered down the impact of the one scene he really crushed.
i see what you are saying. But Oldmans character was literally dead and served his point in the story/plot so its different.
Vincenzo was very much alive. There is also a story telling reason why he would show up again and be in the final shootout. We care about built up characters. There is a reason Hans Gruber isnt introduced once to give orders then leave and then we watch his henchmen cary out the rest of the actions in Die hard. theres a reason we are impacted more when Hans dies vs henchman #5.
its just better storytelling and more impactful to the viewer to have a single main antagonist built up and eventually beat, rather than watching 7 nameless hencemen die in a shootout. esp when we saw him kill Slaters dad.
it would have elevated the story. not to mention having seen how capable and dangerous Vincenzo was it would have been even better and fear and tension inducing. seeing our protagonists getting hunted down and stalked by this ruthless hunter=. it would have fit well too if he'd met brads character, seeing what happened to clarences dad we'd assume he would be tortured and murdered. But then could breathe a sigh of relieve when Vincenzo doesn't, because he knows Brad is telling the truth.
and maybe when Vincenzo finally tracks down Clarence at Lee's house thinking the cops are some elaborate hoax or another gang ripping them off. The look of panic on his face when he realizes they are telling the truth and are cops, and then gets gunned down.
He was high up. He wouldn’t be with the crew kicking in doors where his life would be at risk. He did the hopper scene as they had the element of surprise. After the henchman got killed by Alabama he knew that he could get hurt. Makes sense why we wouldn’t see him anymore. Also there’s a deleted scene with him in a lift at a wedding ordering the crew to blitz Clarence.
shareI think also….the movie took a completely different tonal change once it shifted to California. It was cool to have the one impactful scene with Walken (in Detroit), and learn how he fits into the scheme of things. But it would dilute his impact to keep showing him, the way most conventional movies would.
That’s part of what sets Tarantino movies apart. Heck….one might ask: Why get a big name like Val Kilmer to play the Elvis presence if we never get to actually see his face? Plus…he’s only in 3 very brief scenes.
Tarantino.
yes, Chris Walken NAILED IT