Rating: B
Over the course of his career, Quentin Tarantino has dabbled in an eclectic mix of styles. He’s done a crime thriller that functions as a stage play (Reservoir Dogs), martial art revenge flicks (Kill Bill 1 & 2), an alternate-history war movie (Inglourious Basterds), and perhaps most iconically, a non-linear black comedy (Pulp Fiction). But as different as these movies might look or feel, there are two recurring features to every Tarantino film: extraordinarily well-written dialogue, and copious amounts of violence.
As expected, Tarantino’s octonary outing The Hateful Eight delivers both of those things in spades. The titular eight characters let loose a flock of delicious anecdotes and one-liners, long before any bullets fly. It really is incredible how much of this three-hour Western consists of nothing but dialogue, all the while keeping a firm grip on your attention.
Captured on glorious 70mm film and with great costume design, The Hateful Eight looks stunning. The brooding score by composer extraordinaire Ennio Morricone adds a palpable sense of dread to the film’s darkest moments.
Without spoiling anything, I must say I wish the film played out a little differently. The scenario that Tarantino sets up is an exciting chess problem with eight unique pieces, a Gordian knot of intrigue and ulterior motives. I don’t feel as though the film quite makes the most of its own potential. Perhaps I came in with a degree of amnesia about Tarantino’s career, forgetting how volatile all of his films have been. Quentin’s proven himself far more likely to knock a chess problem violently onto the floor than solve it in a deliberate and intellectual way. So while The Hateful Eight brings superb thrills and plenty of toothsome dialogue, don’t come expecting a subtle, clever resolution.
