I think this film will ferment like wine fine eventually resurfacing as a forgotten cult classic. I saw it years ago in the post-pulp fiction hype 1996 and was disappointed by the apparent boredom and mediocrity of its central premise. However I saw it recently and finally recognized it as a satire of film genres very much in the vein of Tarantino's popular films. The characters seem like extras who didn't make it to the final cut of Pulp Fiction, resembling the stoners and dropouts that Jules and Vincent torment and kill in Pulp Fiction - this movie is about a generation who has simply watched too many violent movies. The prostitution, drugs and aids in the film shatter the fantasy that the would-be back robbers have about their plans in the film giving it a genuine sense of misery and apathy that the Eric Stoltz character 'Zed' (aka Lance from Pulp Fiction) fails to register.
The performances are ridiculous, and Stoltz seems to act like he's in the wrong place (or wrong film). Avary enjoys referencing better heist movies like Riffi, Reservoir Dogs, French Connection and Point Break, and distills the film with a morbid sense of dread and confusion that tells us this is not going to end well. The final ambiguous ending where the characters driving off into city of Paris gives the film a final romantic twist that leaves us hoping these losers will clean up, but only suggests that the ride continues - very much like Iggy Pop said in his song the Passenger where he talks about Jim Morrison. You can switch cars and change direction but never actually get out of the car, just make sure you’re with the right people.
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