Tarantino is one of the few Hollywood directors, like Coppola, Scorsese, Spielberg and, of late, JJ Abrams who Hollywood studios feel free to give cash to indulge their fantasies.
Sometimes the fantasies are fun for everyone e.g. Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction,
Inglourious Basterds and Django but sometimes it feels like the joke is on us e.g. Death Proof and sometimes the stuff is just meh like Jackie Brown, but a meh Tarantino is still way better than half the stuff that is out there. So where do we rank The Hateful Eight? Let's dig in...
Well, if you loved Reservoir Dogs, Panic Room, The Thing or Shallow Grave, you're going to love The Hateful Eight. The first hour is as indulgent as Tarantino can get. A lot of talking heads and the plot takes the backseat as QT does his dialogue thing and character set up.
You can see his enjoyment at shooting in the rare 70mm Panavision format. He's not in a rush to get us into the cabin 'cause once we're there, the plot rattles up to a very satisfying, bloody conclusion.
Samuel L Jackson has a great time in this 6th collarboration with QT - his character is charming, vindictive and smart. I don't know about you but I love it when Jackson plays these type of characters.
Then there are the other usual QT players: Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern who are great. The cool thing about him co-operating with the same actors is that he can give us situations that call back to his other films. Yep, the grand daddy of homages is now referencing himself.
My only gripe with The Hateful Eight is that it's close to 3 hours and you do feel the first hour but other than that, there's not much to fault here. QT is still QT, he will write what he likes. Which is refreshing in the age where we are forced to be PC most of the time and QT loves his gore - he does not spare that. Yet what I love most about QT is when he's got something to say aside from just the entertainment.
In a plot about ruthless men and a woman stuck together in a cabin, is a tale about race relations in the US and how little it has changed. If you blink, you may totally miss it and get carried away by the action and talking, but it's there and it's a clever feat just like he pulled with hope and faith in Pulp Fiction, you can completely miss it and still enjoy the movie.
Is it good enough for an Oscar?...mmmh its not at Pulp Fiction level nor is it at Death Proof low- I doubt it will bag it but it deserves the nomination.
Rating ***1/2
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* rotten ** if theres nothing better on tv ***we getting there ****Almost Perfect ***** Instant Classic