Once upon a time there was a story with no real plot....

Rating: 6/10 (29 July 2019)

I was kind of disappointed with this one. I mean, there was some great scenes (in particular I laughed my butt off when Leo's character Rick is in his trailer crying/trying to give himself a pep talk). There is some snappy dialogue and I thought the two leads (Leo and Brad were fantastic - especially Leo). But at the same time I felt like the narrative wasn't cohesive. A lot of the film in the first 2 acts dragged me for. I was sitting in my seat and instead of being engaged in the story was wondering how much longer the movie was going to be. I was wondering where they were going with this, if it had any point. And some of the editing choices didnt make a lot of sense to me either. One of the scenes is a flashback for Brad's character's Cliff where he met and fought Bruce Lee. It is an entertaining scene and I get that it does set up how much of a bad ass Cliff is. So my problem isnt the scene itself but wouldnt it make sense to show it when Rick says "Hey, don't bother, its being run by the same guys that did The Green Hornet". But instead we get an extended scene of Cliff driving back to Rick's home, getting on the roof and then suddenly having the flashback. Quentin also decided on a weird characterization for Cliff. Like, they make it a point a few times that he killed his wife and got away with it. Sure, its never technically shown but it heavily implied and the character never seems to deny it either. But, I kept waiting for it to have some importance later. And it never really does. It just feels like an odd tid bit to throw in there. And especially on a character who more or less is the hero of the story.
The film kind of connects itself in the third act when it goes for the revenge/fantasy part. And again, it is a really entertaining over-the-top violence kind of scene that you expect and love from a Quentin Tarantino film but again, personally its a bit too late for me. The rest of the film has entertaining stuff but lacks substance. There isnt much of a plot. Like Rick is dealing with being a fading star, the biggest thing that happens to Cliff is that he meets the Manson cult pretty early on, and Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate doesnt really have much to do in the film. Like we see her walking around, watching her own movies, playing music in her house. Like, her character honestly doesnt have much else to do or say.
That being said, I did also love the 60s vibes from it. I loved the nods to other movies/TV shows/actors from that time period. It did feel authentic and fun.
Overall....I might have to give it a 6. I mean, its a technically well made movie. I think the story( or should I say lack of it) as well as the pacing drag it down.