Review of Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019) by Whitewolf_1984 — 14 Dec 2019

I think this is Tarantino's worst movie as director. It's an alright buddy comedy movie, an above average one but for Quentin, it's not very good. The movie focuses mainly on the friendship between Rick and Cliff (DiCaprio and Pitt).

The friendship though felt awkward and kind of unnatural, Cliff was nothing more than Rick's unpaid chaperone while also being his personal stuntman. Their relationship seemed forced and just as a side effect of their jobs (and plot), not because they really liked each other.

It spoilt my immersion into their scenes together and my interest in them as characters. When they aren't together but doing things alone the movie is better and the funny scenarios they get caught up in are amusing but not hilarious moments like in Inglorious and Pulp Fiction.

I chuckled a lot but hardly laughed out loud. The big finale is more wtf and exciting than a belly laugh. The dialogue in sharp and gets your attention with wit but the story doesn't really go anywhere.

I get Tarantino likes to break up his movies making them non-linear but ultimately every scene compliments the narrative and builds up to a logical conclusion. However, Once Upon... is just a collection of unique moments which our protagonists find themselves in, which although reasonably enjoyable, don't add barely anything to the narrative for much of the runtime.

The last third of the movie is much better and meaningful which just is a bit frustrating because if the film was more cohesive like the final third, I personally would have liked it a lot more than I did.

Ricks journey gets interesting 90 minutes in and Cliff gets a worthwhile plot. The finale is entertaining but the ending is a let down, it's like they go through a big event and just forget about it like nothing happened, The End.

The movie wastes a lot of time on Sharon (Robbie) whose scenes are dull and just feel like filler. They don't go anywhere and eventually here character is just forgotten about. It felt like a tribute to the real Sharon Tate which is probably the case if you know what happened to her in 1969 but apart from being a tribute and a nod to the past, her scenes just feel unnecessary.

This movie had real potential and just fell flat, all the cool 1960's Hollywood back drop and nostalgia wasted for a mediocre comedy. I think Tarantino films are more about imagery, quirky characters and honouring classic movies than about telling a gripping story and grabbing your attention these days.