One step forward for film two steps back for Quentin Tarantino

Rating: 7/10 (26 December 2015)

This year has been pretty uneventful film wise. With a few decent indy's and very few decent studio films, the expectations were high for the "end of year" academy nod films like 'The Revenant', 'Carol' and 'Hateful Eight'. I personally have been excited about 'Hateful Eight' since I learned about it being shot on 70mm using Ultra Panavision anamorphic lenses, photochemical finish and distribution on 70mm. Being a cinephile, my excitement for 'Hateful Eight' was pretty high and after watching some test footage in June at cinegear expo, I was aesthetic with the results and was looking forward to the final piece.
I was able to see 'Hateful Eight' about three weeks before it's release during a special private screening for industry members. I was extremely excited and I wasn't shocked when I left the theater dismayed with what I saw. I knew from the very first trailer, I wouldn't like the film. The score, cinematography, acting and beautiful locations, couldn't help the weak, unrealistic and completely plagiarized story. Yet, I was excited to see it as many times as I could, to get the 70mm experience and see how different theaters presented it.
After my third screening, I've come to terms with 'Hateful Eight', it's pro's and con's.
It's very easy to come down on this film harshly. It's a bloody massacre with some audience cringing moments that are really unnecessary. Its also a pretty weak story, a re-hash of Duel at Ichijoji Temple mixed with some classic television western's. However, Quentin clearly wanted to make an almost silly western, something over the top and very circumstantial, that was his goal. After meeting him in person and talking about the film a bit, I understood what he was trying to do and ya know what, it actually does work.
Now, I'm not personally in love with 'Hateful Eight', I think it could have been a lot better. However, it's fantastic cinematography, wonderful score, beautiful locations, excellent production design, fantastic costumes and phenomenal cast, really make it worth watching. Those who can get past the rip off nonsensical story, who can laugh at the silly moments and enjoy a fun piece of entertainment, will really get a lot out of this movie. It's nowhere near the caliber of 'Inglorious Bastards' or "Django', both of which were masterpieces of cinema, but it's not that far away. I have a hard time giving it a bad score because I did see it three times in the theater! I also can't give it an excellent score because it's not excellent. So I'm going to give it a 7 out of 10, which is pretty realistic in my world.