Quentin Tarantino is one of the surer bets in the movie industry. His track record speaks for itself, with classic movies such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Bastards and the Kill Bill films. Unfortunately though, his newest film, The Hateful Eight, is far from his best work.
That being said, the film, staring a combination of veterans from past Tarantino films such as Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell along with newcomers Jennifer Jason Leigh and Demian Bichir, is not bad by any means.
The film takes place soon after the Civil War during a ferocious snowstorm. The storm causes bounty hunters “Major Marquis Warren,” played by Jackson, and “John ‘Hangman’ Ruth,” played by Russell, to take refuge in a nearby inn called Minnie’s Haberdashery. The two, already accompanied by Ruth’s prisoner “Daisy Domergue,” played excellently by Leigh, are soon joined by Walton Goggins’s character “Chris Mannix” and bring him along to the inn. Once there, they join another set of travelers also holing up at Minnie’s, each with their own intriguing backstory.
The setup and the first half of the movie are excellent. Tarantino is fantastic at coming up with interesting character histories, building immediate interest in each new face that comes on screen. Everyone in the cast is noteworthy, with Leigh being the standout. Each character is played as if they have something to hide, which they all do. That only helps build the suspense, as you get ready to settle in and figure out which of them is going to try something first.
Unfortunately, the second half doesn’t live up to the first. The storyline starts to feel rushed before we sit through a flashback that feels overwrought and unnecessary. It’s almost as if Tarantino knows how good he is at introducing characters, so he keeps trying to bring in new ones.
Aside from pacing issues, the usual snappy Tarantino dialogue isn’t there. Like the rest of the film, people start off sounding like they are going to say something important, but everything just comes across disappointingly bland and unmemorable.
On it’s own, The Hateful Eight is a frustrating film, but one worthy of your time. You may find yourself discussing it with others even days later. The film is inevitably going to be compared to Tarantino’s past works, and in that sense the result will leave you wanting.
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