Have no fear, however, the trademark Tarantino dialogue is still there. Witness lines such as the following -- an ode to the world’s most famous semi-automatic weapon spoken by gunrunner Ordell Robbie (played by Samuel L. Jackson): “The AK47, when you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room.”

Another preconception -- that Jackie Brown will be Pulp Fiction II -- is quickly forgotten minutes into the film. That is, in case you have not been alerted to this fact by the generous heapings of publicity which predated the opening of the movie.

Adapted for the screen from Elmore Leonard’s novel Rum Punch, the film Jackie Brown is a cerebral piece of work. “It’s a quiet film,” says Tarantino, “but my idea of quiet may not be anyone else’s.” In other words, while the movie is no Driving Miss Daisy, there are less one-liners and bloodshed than in the director’s previous two films. Tarantino is a maturing film-maker and it is evident in his current piece of work.

The movie’s namesake is played by Pam Grier who, to date, has been known for her work in the ’70s, starring in urban capers such as Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1975) and Sheba, Baby! (1975). As Jackie Brown, she gets busted by an ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) agent played by Michael Keaton and an LA cop (Michael Bowen) while running money back from Mexico for Ordell Robbie. With a sympathetic bailbondsman (Robert Forster) at her side, Jackie works both ends of her predicament against each other in a play for survival. It’s a high-stakes game and Tarantino uses its inherent danger to keep us on the edge of our seats while the heroine boldly negotiates her way through. (I didn’t actually clock the movie’s length, but it’s most definitely a long one, bring a couple of sandwiches.)

It’s easy to see why Tarantino chose Grier to play the film’s protagonist. She’s a stately woman, not necessarily beautiful per se but extraordinarily charismatic -- and believably powerful in her meatier scenes. The Jackie Brown cast also includes Bridget Fonda, who does a wonderful job as the bitchy surfer girl Melanie Ralston. To ice the cake, the movie features Robert De Niro as the bumbling jail-hound Louis Gara.

As Gara, De Niro delivers his obligatory monosyllabic sentences (Saturday Night Live immediately comes to mind), however, his character this time around differs from those in the past via Gara’s dim-witted mentality. It’s no surprise that De Niro, one of our time’s most celebrated actors -- pulls it off without a hitch.

As with his prior outing, Tarantino’s soundtrack is reason enough to sit through the movie with or without the great story that accompanies it. Jackie Brown opens with Bobby Womack’s powerful “Across 110th Street” and then treats us to no shortage of goodies at numerous key moments in the story. My guess is that, with the arrival of this film, 70’s soul music is poised to make a comeback -- as is the career of leading lady Pam Grier, of course.