The Hateful Eight is the eighth film released by acclaimed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Starring the likes of Samuel L Jackson and Kurt Russell, the western flick, set a few years after the American Civil War, follows 8 strangers who are forced to take refuge in Minnie's Haberdashery to escape a snowstorm. However, not everything is as it seems and as we learn more about each individual character, passions begin to run high.
In many ways, it's a wonder Tarantino's second western ever found its way to the big screen. After the screenplay was leaked online in January 2014, the enigmatic director questioned whether he would make the film at all. However, after a successful live reading of the script in April of that year, a decision was made to go ahead with production.
While not the most exciting entry in the Tennessee native's filmography, The Hateful Eight is extremely strong in several key areas, including the impressive performances given by every member of its large ensemble cast. The actors in this movie all play their respective characters to a tee, and their delivery of Tarantino's signature dialogue is music to the ears of any film fan. Samuel L Jackson in particular gives a possible career best performance as Major Marquis Warren, a war veteran turned bounty hunter. Not since Pulp Fiction has the former Oscar nominee been this compelling to watch on screen and, while part of the credit has to go down to Tarantino's ability to effectively write layered and complex characters with ease, Jackson's charisma and energy makes this a very memorable outing for the legendary actor. Kurt Russell is also a standout as John "The Hangman" Ruth, a bounty hunter famous for bringing outlaws in alive rather than dead. While not necessarily a nuanced performance in any sense of the word, Russell's on-the-nose style of acting meshes perfectly with the loudmouthed Ruth's brash and opinionated attitude, resulting in a very respectable and natural showing from the 80s action star. The film also features breakout performances from Walton Goggins (who you may recognise from his small role in Tarantino's other western flick "Django Unchained") and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the latter of whom has received a massive amount of critical recognition and acclaim since the film's release for her role as the outlaw Daisy Domergue.
In saying this, the cast are not the only stars of the show as the cinematography in this film is stunning. Filmed using 65mm film reels and shown in a widescreen format, The Hateful Eight looks like a throwback to the "golden age" western films of the 50s and 60s, albeit with superior colour and clarity in its finished result. You have to applaud Tarantino and cinematographer Robert Richardson's decision to film The Hateful Eight in this classic format, as it really does give the film a very unique and authentic look. On top of this, the film's score, composed by Ennio Morricone, is absolutely spot on and it's use of dissonance throughout perfectly conveys to the audience the growing conflict between the eight strangers.
Yet this is far from a perfect film. To be completely honest, The Hateful Eight can at times be really quite boring, in the sense that it does not produce nearly enough action or standout moments to justify its two hour plus run time. The film's last two "chapters" in particular are extremely slow-burning and badly paced, leaving the general viewer impassive and uninterested by the time the story reaches a conclusion. The general plot is also familiar, and there is definitely a sense that Tarantino is beginning to waver in his ability to breath new life into a genre while still staying true to that its main themes and cinematic style. There are points in The Hateful Eight where it is less of a western and more like Reservoir Dogs in the snow, which, unfortunately, makes it feel like a rehashing of Tarantino's earlier work. I can't help but think it would have worked out better if he had tried his hand at another genre (possibly a horror) rather than make another western film so soon after Django, which was both more entertaining and easier to watch.
In conclusion, The Hateful Eight is a very decent movie. The acting is stellar, the cinematography is breathtaking and the score is a masterful example of storytelling with music. As is to be expected from any Quentin Tarantino movie, it has a script filled with well-crafted dialogue, interesting characters and quotable lines, while also finding time to squeeze in some of his trademarked over-the-top ultra-violence. In saying this, you probably won't want to go back for second helpings due to its excessively long run time and rather dry plot. Simply put, The Hateful Eight is a good movie however it just doesn't quite match the high standards that the most popular filmmaker of this generation has set himself and, when all is said and done, it won't be remembered as his finest work.
Score: 7.4/10
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