Once Upon a Time in...Boringland

Rating: 7/10 (29 July 2019)

If I were to have viewed this film prior to having any knowledge regarding it, I never would have guessed it to be Tarantino's work. The plot and much of the character dialogues did not resemble his work whatsoever.
For the first two hours, it felt like Tarantino was trying to build tension between characters that were underdeveloped. I was almost certain that this would result in something, and that the end of the film would prove the lack of the main characters' development to be significant.
When the film got to the third act it seemed as if Tarantino realized he had burned through two out of the three hours he had, as things sped up oddly fast. The ending was good and by far the most exciting part of the film, but it felt incomplete. I left the theater feeling confused and as if I missed something.
The film does have its highs, set design is insane and very pleasing, and the acting is super good too. Leo's performance was one of the best ever. Camera work as always is good. With all of these factors in place, it feels as if Tarantino had the opportunity to turn this film into the best of his whole career, but forgot to add the elements that make his other films so successful.