Underrated, one of Tarantino's best

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2016)

Quentin Tarantino's ninth film (eighth if you count Kill Bill as one film) involves eight strangers who seek refuge in a stagecoach stopover called 'Minnie's Haberdashery' due to an incoming blizzard. There is a series of very tense long scenes, a ton of dialogue and a fair share of plot twists towards the end.
As a big fan of Tarantino (being a producer of short films myself), his latest work struck me as one of his best. I was surprised however, when I found out that a lot of people disliked it, saying it was too similar to his other works, unoriginal or boring. Sure, the shots are typically very long and the scenes are quite drawn out, but as this is meant to be a Western, that is to be expected. The long scenes may be annoying for some, but they help build up the tension and had me on-edge for the entire film. Furthermore, it is most certainly not unoriginal. In fact, I think it's one of the most original films I've seen in a long time. The plot is not something I've ever seen before, and it is definitely not a rip-off of any of his other films.
The score, the first complete movie score by Ennio Morricone in 35 years(!) is perfect and sets the scene brilliantly. The acting is also spot-on, with Kurt Russel delivering a great comeback in the role of John Ruth, Samuel Jackson impressing as Major Warren and Walton Goggins doing a superb accent in the role of Sheriff Chris Mannix. The plot is also great (as mentioned earlier) and I would be lying if I said that I anticipated any of the plot twists.
All in all, another brilliant film by Tarantino with a flawless plot, brilliant cinematography, great acting and an epic score. If you haven't seen it yet, then you definitely should.
8.4/10 (8)