Expectations are set too high?

Rating: 6/10 (4 September 2019)

Here's the thing. I am a big Tarantino fan. Growing up and having what was at first; a light interest in films soon exploded to high appreciation for this particular art. The films that i have seen in the past involving Tarantino have done nothing but amaze me. When i saw the announcement for Pitt, DiCaprio and Robbie were going to be involved in the next Tarantino movie i was so excited and eager to see what Tarantino was going to bring to the table. I recall one review stating it was Tarantino's "love letter to Hollywood" and you can see that with the authenticity of how much research and heart was used to make it really feel like Hollywood in the 60s. The acting from all involved was astounding. DiCaprio really took this to another level and was impressed through-out my viewing. So if i was to state what i feel was the foundation which held this movie up it would defiantly be the acting and the authenticity. Now if you have got this far you are probably wondering where the negative aspect is and why it's only a 6/10. Well here it is. The story. The story was missing something through-out and i often found myself questioning what was going on and where we were going from here through-out the film. So much heart went into the authenticity of the film i just feel like the story was over-looked some what. Take the sub-plot with Pitt going to where he used to film and there was the hippies living there. I cannot recollect the time that was invested in this particular plot but it was 20 minutes plus for sure. I am a fan of expectation subversion, that is the audience feeling that it is going one way when in reality the story goes off the rails in an enigmatic way to which we are left stunned an amazed. We had this really tense build up with Pitt going towards the house where his friend supposedly lived. There was this underline hostility from the parties living there and it was really nerve racking to think what would happen in that situation to Pitt. Yet despite this build up with felt like there was no other way it was going to go besides down a dark path, Pitt finds that his friend is there and everything is fine. Slight drama with his tyre being slashed but that is it. Really long build up with the cinematography and the score to reveal nothing, the most boring outcome possible and we feel like we just wasted 20 minutes of our time. I appreciate that the conflict that occurred at the end of the scene led the chain of events to happen at the end of the film, i get that. Just don't feel that it should of been so suspenseful and drawn out as it was. The end action scene was the Tarantino stamp on the movie which i thought was incredibly brilliant and thoroughly enjoyed. There were elements of comedy which also made the viewing somewhat enjoyable. I'm not saying that i don't like this film, i'm just saying i didn't enjoy it as much as i thought i would. Again i feel like this comes down to expectations are too high for something of this caliber and when it falls even less then what you expected, it knocks the whole experience. For me this is a film to watch once, i wouldn't necessarily watch it again.