The Hateful Eight (2015)
I hadn’t seen this since the roadshow with the 70mm print almost 10 years ago. I remember it as a pretty great cinematic experience, but the movie itself doesn’t quite hold up watching at home. Its lack of pace and substance because clearer, as it mostly hinges on the well known Tarantino-dialogue and it doesn’t quite bring the A-game here. It is a colorful cast and while I don’t think anyone is outright bad, I enjoyed some more than others. Samuel L. Jackson is just his regular self, Kurt Russel is a bit much and I don’t think he quite fits the role. My favorite was Walton Goggins as he really reminds me of a classic spaghetti western character. Demián Bichir is cool as well, and the rest are serviceable in what they need to do.
That Tarantino used 70mm to film mostly inside is both really funny and annoying. It looks interesting, but it also comes off as somewhat gimmicky when he plays around with the focus switches and what not. Like he just enjoyed fooling around.
I think it starts well on the stagecoach. Highly elevated by one of the best scores by Morricone. The middle really takes it damn time to get going, and the violent bloodbath at the end is entertaining as it is, but also a bit uninspired by Tarantino.
I owe Tarantino a lot for how his use of spaghetti western themes and scores led me to take a deep interest in westerns, but his own takes on the western genre don’t really stand tall among the rest.
Rating: 3