Crime mystery set in snow storm in wilderness

Rating: 7/10 (30 June 2016)

Quentin Tarantino has not ever been one of my favorite directors, nor storytellers. Admittedly though he has directed some very brave and edgy films that I do like. Among them are Django Unchained, Inglorious Basters and Reservoir Dogs.
The story of Reservoir Dogs is set in mainly one place, a storehouse. The scenery is simple, dialogue is well-flowing, characters are well-developed and it could as well be a stage-drama. To tell the least, the plot line of The Hateful Eight is developed pretty much in the same way as in Reservoir Dogs. Men with names of colors are changed into one man of color: Samuel L. Jackson, and one with ethnicity: Demlan Bachir.
Tarantino has his reputation on his side. Actors like viewers know at least a bit what to expect from a Tarantino-film. Everything is technically well done, and Morricone's score is as good as in any of those older western movies and The Untouchables (1987). Everything is just in the right place, everything is done in the manner of Tarantino.
What escapes from the most reviewers is the fact that the film is labeled the film as crime mystery. What does it mean? After lengthy intro during which the characters are built, over 1,5 hours of running-time, there is a sudden kill and poisoning. And this is a starting point of a psychological crime drama set in the cabin in the wilderness. When you should start focusing on what was said during the film, who are these people who now accommodate the cabin. Whom you or the main characters should trust, and whom not.
Structure of the film could have done in many other ways. But I believe Tarantino knew exactly how he would be doing the film: with a really long intro and a lot of talking during which most of the viewers get bored and miss hopefully what most of the talking was about. I would have preferred shorter introduction like most of the viewers, but I must say at the same time, once again Tarantino has done a great deal with characters and making a western movie that is not actually at all is and mainly is not a western movie.
I understand the disappointment of many who do not like this kind of storytelling. I don't like it much either. Also over half of the running-time seems like meaningless dialogue until - this is in the very essence of cinema storytelling from which any director or screenwriter could learn from.
7/10