What Resivoir Dogs could have been. Highly interesting and entertaining.

Rating: 8/10 (5 February 2016)

If you gave this basic plot to Frank Darabont, you would have a much different story. You could keep the title the same, and even have a couple of deaths, but then the remaining characters would eventually come together and put aside their differences and enact justice on Daisy Domergue, who would probably have killed whoever was already dead in some detestable way. Instead, with Quentin Tarantino, we get a story of interconnected strings pulled so tight that they have no choice but to snap. The post-civil war setting was perfect for the character's hatred for each other. There aren't many points in American history that had as much internal tension as the era of Reconstruction.
I'll try to keep spoilers out of my description of the story because you should really see the climatic events pan out on their own. Some people can't keep their eyes open that long and are bored by the long stretches of dialogue, which is understandable. But it's worth the effort to pay attention through act one even if not much seems to be happening. Tarantino has made pretty good use of the almost three-hour runtime with how he develops the characters. The only point I thought could have been cut out was the sequence when Chris Mannix and O.B. create the makeshift fence between the stable and the outhouse. At the time, I thought it might come into play later, but it doesn't.
Otherwise, almost every minute is treated with reasonable value. My favorite thing that came from the extended length was that it let you forget about characters and start to like them-- until they did something to make them just as despicable as the others. SPOILERS AHEAD!! For instance, I had totally forgotten that Joe Gage was even there until he helped O.B. bring out General Smither's body. All of the characters have a little something to like about them, and a fair sight more to dislike about them. Major Warren seems agreeable enough until he relates how he raped General Smither's son. Oswaldo, Bob, and Joe Gage seem to be causing no trouble until we learn that they killed Minnie and Dave. Chris Mannix and General Smither's generate a nice friendship at first, then we find out that it is driven by their extreme racism. John Ruth is respectable for the pride he takes in his job as a bounty hunter, but eventually we lose some respect for his character when he slips up rather incompetently. Daisy Domergue is introduced as an ugly sort of person, but we end up rooting for her character a little as she uses her power as the most needed person in the room to her advantage. Her life is important to everyone else in the room, so she uses it as a bargaining tool. The other characters, being O.B., Minnie, Six-horse Judy, Sweet Dave, and Jody add some level of normality since they, O.B. in particular, are outside of the web of hatefulness.
The script was very well done with a couple of minor flaws. The slow pace was a little problematic and some of the dialogue didn't work great, such as the bit when Major Warren explains why he doesn't believe Bob's story. Otherwise, Taratino's screenplay brought the characters to life like few others do. This was helped in no small part by the stellar acting. All the parts were well played and well cast. The camera work was stylized and engaging as it tends to be with Tarantino. The score was also a great point of execution that did its work in setting the mood. The intermingled comedy was quite well done as well between the running joke with the door, the small bits of violence early on, Tim Roth's eyebrow movement, and Chris Mannix's obnoxiousness. Normally, characters like Mannix come off as a lot more annoying than funny, but I though Walter Goggins absolutely nailed it with his performance. The action is way over the top, as expected, adding more to the spectacle than the excitement.
I would highly recommend seeing this in theaters if you still can. I was very glad I did since it wouldn't have been as enjoyable or interesting to watch it in separate sittings. It is very long, so make sure you prepare yourself for that however you need to. If you're looking for a good time to stop or leave, I would recommend the beginning of chapter 4, but I'll warn you that it only gets better from there. I liked the chapter breaks because it allowed me to kind of process whatever had just happened. There's a lot of blood by the end, but the violence and language has been toned down from Django. So watch it under theatrical conditions and be prepared for an immersive and stunning cinematic experience. Overall Rating: 8.5/10.