Very Good Movie, Not Excellent.

Rating: 8/10 (23 September 2016)

I think this is a very good movie, but certainly not a 10/10 as some of the more recent reviews would have you believe. Perhaps it is a movie that takes multiple viewings to fully appreciate (my gut tells me as much), but when it clocks in at ~4 hours, it becomes a difficult proposition to watch it multiple times. You really have to be a true cinephile to dedicate ~8 hours to a movie... any movie! Personally, I consider myself more of a casual.
Specifically, I think the quality deteriorates as the movie progresses. The first act is masterful, really amazing; the 2nd act is interesting but suffers slightly from a lack of direction; and the third act is ponderous and a bit far-fetched almost to the point of feeling heavy-handed. I lost interest slightly as the movie progressed.
Not my favourite Sergio Leone movie, but definitely worth a watch at least once for casual movie lovers. However, if you are one of those rare persons with true cinema aspirations then, yes, maybe watching 2-3 times will reap more benefits.