Review of The Hateful Eight (2015) by Dana F — 04 Jul 2017

I am flabbergasted that a Quentin Tarantino film could be so exceptionally boring. A more fitting title would be "The Loquacious Eight" - this movie is 2 hours and 45 minutes of talking, 15 minutes of action.

Usually, this wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, as dialogue is Tarantino's strong suit. But this movie has little to none of his signature snappy dialogue. In fact, most of it seems completely unnatural/forced, and it isn't helped by the poor delivery (mostly by Kurt Russell, who is about as bad as I've ever seen him).

I honestly can't even believe this is a Tarantino film, it just doesn't have his stamp on it... the humor falls flat and the direction has none of his typical dynamism. If it weren't for the cast, the violence, and the gratuitous use of the n-bomb, I would never have known it was his.

Despite the buzz Jennifer Jason Leigh has gotten, the only stand-out performance is Tim Roth's, whose delivery makes the stale dialogue sing. Then there is the editing, or rather, lack thereof (I'm actually starting to think that Tarantino's longtime editor, the late great Sally Menke, was the real genius behind his prior films).

It's arduously long, and not in a "Wolf of Wall Street" kind of way. There is really no excuse for its length... literally nothing happens until you are almost 2 hours in; prior to that, it's all just "proper name, place name, back-story stuff" (extra points if you get that reference).

By the time it does get rolling, any tension that could possibly have been built has dissipated. Even when the things finally start happening, there is very little substance propelling the narrative. This story could easily have been made as a short, let alone the sluggish 3-hour snoozefest that it is.

"The Hateful Eight" is easily the most disappointing entry in QT's filmography. The best thing about it is its beautifully ominous theme.