This opening sequence exercises the cinematic rule of "Disorientation leads to suggestibility." You don't know if these punks are the heroes of the story or, as it turns out, mere bookends. The filmmaker's intention is to leave you a bit disoriented and guessing about their importance. You're also left guessing about the fate of these hotheads and the people in the restaurant.
VINCENT and JULES
Now for the first time, we see our two protagonists, Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, driving in a big American car. They, too, are in their ORDINARY WORLD having a mundane conversation about the subtle differences in fast-food menus and customs in the countries of Europe. Vincent has spent some time in Europe where things are different — a Big Mac is called Le Big Mac in France, and the rules about drugs in Amsterdam are different. He has been to a SPECIAL WORLD and has the experienced air of a hero reliving a previous adventure.
Vincent and Jules stop at an apartment building and take guns from the trunk of their car. The feeling is that this is just another day at the office for them, a routine job in their Ordinary World.
As they approach the apartment to perform their mission, the conversation turns to Mia (a SHAPESHIFTER), wife of their criminal boss Marsellus Wallace (Mr. Big). This is the first note of a CALL TO ADVENTURE for Vincent, who has been put in the difficult position of being asked by Marsellus to escort his wife on a date while he's in Florida. The danger of this Call is made clear (a form of REFUSAL) in the complex philosophical discussion about foot massage. Jules points out that a Samoan gangster named Antwan Rockamora was thrown off his balcony into a greenhouse just for giving Mia a foot rub. Jules thinks the punishment was out of proportion to the crime, but Vincent understands very well that a foot massage could be a sensual experience and could get you killed. Nonetheless he has accepted the Call and will be Mia's escort. He promises not to get in trouble with Mia and denies that it will even be a real date, but Jules is skeptical.
After a long pause at the door, they CROSS A THRESHOLD, entering the apartment of Three Young Guys "obviously in over their heads." They have something which Marsellus Wallace wants, and apparently they have tried to stiff him in a deal for the contents of a mysterious briefcase. Jules, menacingly standing over the leader, Brett, intimidates him by eating his fast food and questioning him about what restaurant he bought it from. It's not a Wendy's or McDonald's hamburger, it's a Big Kahuna burger. Kahuna is Hawaiian magic, so it suggests big magic coming. Certainly there is magic in the briefcase, whose glowing contents hypnotize Vincent when he opens it to check on them. What's in the briefcase? It doesn't matter because it's just a MacGuffin, and in keeping with the Hitchcock tradition, Tarantino never bothers to say what it really is. It's enough that it's something of importance to the characters, something worth the risk of dying for. It's a Holy Grail or a Golden Fleece, a symbol of all the desires that draw heroes into quests.
Confronting the terrified young men, Vincent and Jules are HERALDS bringing a fatal CALL, acting at this moment as the allies of Death, the servants of the SHADOW. They are agents of Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, who brings punishment on those who offend the order of the gods. The god in this case is Marsellus Wallace. Brett and Roger have offended Mr. Big by trying to cheat him in the deal for the briefcase.
Jules makes his power manifest by shooting Roger without provocation. Before executing Brett, Jules performs a ritual, reciting the Bible passage from Ezekiel 25:17 which is his trademark:
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brother. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."
This, in effect, is a statement of the theme of the movie, a complex statement that can be interpreted many ways. On this reading, Jules seems to identify with only part of the message, the part about "great vengeance and furious anger," for he and Vincent empty their guns into Brett when the speech is done.
Then a miracle occurs. While Jules' friend Marvin, who has been there all along, mutters in a corner, a Fourth Young Man bursts out of the bathroom, firing away at Jules and Vincent with a heavy handgun. The miracle is that the bullets seem to have no effect. The Young Man is blown off his feet by return fire from Jules and Vincent.
This sequence establishes the Ordinary World for the protagonists of this thread of the story. They are enforcers for a powerful gangster, a notch or two above the level of the two kids in the coffee shop, but not far above. They are trying to work out an ethical system between them, and are concerned about the limits of honor and duty. The twin heroes are traveling down the same road so far, but their paths are about to split because of their differing reactions to the miracle that has just occurred.
"VINCENT VEGA AND MARSELLUS WALLACE'S WIFE"
A title card now establishes that the prologue or framing device is over and the first of the pulp fiction short stories is about to begin. But before bringing Vincent and Mia together, the storytellers introduce two new characters, Marsellus Wallace and Butch Coolidge, projecting ahead to Butch's story thread. Marsellus, described as sounding like "a cross between a gangster and a king," sits talking to Butch, a knocked-around prizefighter. In Butch's Hero's Journey, he is in his ORDINARY WORLD, getting a dark CALL to throw a fight.
Marsellus is both HERALD and MENTOR, godlike, seen only from behind, possessed of a MENTOR'S wisdom and a definite philosophy of life. Perhaps significantly, he has a Band-Aid on the back of his neck. Was he simply cut while shaving his perfectly bald head, or does the Band-Aid cover something more sinister — like the alien brain implants from the 1950s classic Invaders From Mars? Like the glowing contents of the briefcase, it poses a puzzle which the moviemakers decline to solve.
Marsellus counsels Butch to swallow his pride and give up his shot at being featherweight champion of the world in return for the sure thing. Butch doesn't hesitate before accepting his Call to throw the fight. He takes the money unhesitatingly. He seems to be accepting the Call, but in fact, as we later learn, he is planning to REFUSE this particular Call, intending instead to win the fight and collect big money by betting on himself
Vincent and Jules enter with the briefcase, but are dressed quite differently than in the previous scene. They wear T-shirts and shorts, which look a little out of place in the bar. Later we'll see that several days have passed since we last saw Vincent and Jules, and that they have been through several major ORDEALS.