8. Nobody Shoots Nice Guy Eddie - Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Quentin Tarantino's debut feature instantly established the former video store clerk as a talent to watch, as he deconstructed the crime movie by delivering a heist flick without a heist, a fractured narrative structure and rapid-fire dialogue that influenced a generation of independent filmmakers. In the movie's climactic Mexican standoff, Chris Penn's Nice Guy Eddie is killed despite the fact that nobody actually shoots him, and Tarantino decided to keep it in the movie anyway in order to generate debate amongst fans. Joe has his gun aimed at Mr. Orange, Mr. White has his gun pointed at Joe and Nice Guy Eddie has his weapon trained on Mr. White. In the original script, Mr. White reportedly turns his gun on Eddie after shooting Joe, but apparently Chris Penn's squibs went off too soon and he dropped to the ground anyway. Even if the ending of the movie no longer makes any sense, Reservoir Dogs is still a classic, while Penn missing his mark and dying onscreen too early went on to spawn plenty of 'Who Shot Nice Guy Eddie?' merchandise in the process.
I don't do social media, so like or follow me in person but please maintain a safe distance or the authorities will be notified. Don't snap me though, I'll probably break. I was once labelled a misogynist on this very site in a twenty paragraph-long rant for daring to speak ill of the Twilight franchise. I stand by what I said, it's crap.
