Antares, I totally hear what your saying about
the ending. In the book it plays out the same way, but Ordell walking into it feels a lot more believable because Leonard sets up how desperate he is to get his money and disappear. He's feeling a ton of heat from the cops because of a sting op that saw his gun stash confiscated. If they caught him and busted him, he'd go away for life. But he can't quite will himself to skip town without his money. Like you say, he's a pretty sharp guy, but at that point in the book he's kind of come unglued and starts taking chances. That doesn't really fix the movie any, but yeah.
Anyways, It's the only QT movie I really cared for as well, though I've come around on Pulp Fiction, respect Reservoir Dogs, and enjoy Deathproof to a degree. Kill Bill and Inglorious Bastards weren't my cup of tea.
I'd like to hear more about the book. I already love the film, but it felt like the book - the source - couldn't possibly be better. Great moments of humanity like when Jackson sits in the car trying to think about who's screwing him over. Or when he has to negotiate to get Chris Tucker into the trunk. The way Fonda says "that's Japan".
FYI, Top right has the best Kangool but bottom right has the best shirt. (Bottom left is the only one I could pull off.)
In the book there's a lot more to Max's character. I mentioned he was unhappily married. Well his and Jackie's relationship also goes a lot further. They're
sleeping together by halfway through, and the idea that maybe they could have a life together is talked about at length. Ultimately though, they wind up at about the same place in the book as in the film, and the film didn't feel like something was missing. So yeah.
Louis Gara (De Niro's character) actually works for Max Cherry in the book. He's still an ex-con, and Max doesn't like him, but the insurance company, who I guess covers Max's office, is mafia owned and they want Gara there to keep an eye on things and bring in some of the major outstanding bonds (runaways). This is another reason why Max is considering getting out of the business, he doesn't like the mafia influence. Louis Gara is a fuller character in the book too. His motivation is more developed, and you can actually empathize with him a bit.
Ordell's gun selling business comes in to play a lot more as well in the book. Buying and selling of various guns and even rocket launchers to different groups. There's also a whole thing involving neo-nazi's in america... it's hard to explain. Ordell actually comes off a little cheesy in the book. His lingo is a dated. Jackson was big improvement. Man was he good. And funny to. His looks, like in that first screen shot, they just crack me up.
QT is responsible for inserting more than a few gems into the mix. The things you mentioned, the delphonics... things that aren't really about plot, but moments that add a lot. The movie just has a feel. It's great looking, the music is perfect... in a lot of ways it's just more capable of bringing the story to life than my imagination.