Vicious, Intense and even a little Cartoony

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2016)

The Hateful 8 had a lot to live up to. Tarantino has been delivering what are considered to be some of the best Cult Classics for years. They're so pop culturally relevant that they have been and still frequently are quoted, parodied and loved by fans all over. Personally I find Django Unchained to easily be one of my all-time favourite movies ever. So it's safe to say there were high expectations, I'm happy to say that The Hateful Eight reached those expectations.
THE HATEFUL EIGHT REVIEW – JACK FITZPATRICK
To the core; this IS a Tarantino film. From the intense moments juxtaposed by the light conversations of unique dialogue to the wide shot cinematography. The Hateful Eight delivers on just about every note. You know those moments in Quentin Tarantino films where the tension is building constantly and it just keeps going until the scene erupts into a violent mayhem; Scenes like the 20 minute conversation in the beginning of Inglorious Basterds and the friendly dinner conversation in candy land which soon turns chaotic from Django Unchained. Well, the entirety of the Hateful Eight is one of these scenes. Trapped in a claustrophobic environment, the film follows a group of people caught in a blizzard. The characters begin to unfold throughout the movie and we see that they aren't always who they say they are, and are all capable of committing acts of brutality.
Throughout the film, the characters spend quality time with one another while the tension escalates and the suspicions rise. Nobody can be trusted, and everybody is in it for something. It's up to the viewer to decide who they trust and who they do not and the film doesn't take sides. Characters get their fair share of screen time and this is basically an extended take of fantastic actors bouncing off of one another as their characters, often chewing the scenery and making the film their own. This being said, I definitely was on Samuel L Jackson's character's side for a lot of it, he was just so undeniably cool throughout. But all of the characters had a moment to shine in, and as I said, it's really up to you as a viewer to decide who you like or who you trust – The two don't necessarily coincide. Tim Roth, Kurt Russel and best of all Samuel L Jackson are returning cast for Tarantino movies and do their other roles justice. However, all of the characters in the film are fantastically written and well thought out. They all have their own stories and motivations and even if we don't like them or wish them to lose, we still understand why they are there and are doing what they are doing. The characters make sense. The writing makes sense, and that's important. The majority of the film is set in an old, partly run down cabin in the middle of a blizzard. Visually though, the film manages to stray far off of boring. I won't pretend I know too much about the 70mm, I'm no expert on aspect ratio or really practical filming in general, however I do watch A LOT of movies and I can appreciate the wide angles exposing characters in the background and the clarity of the film, revealing the tiniest of details such as the dust and snow falling through the air within the cabin throughout the movie. Something I loved about the movie as I mentioned above is that you can see other characters throughout it even when they are not the key focus in that particular scene. The film feels much like a stage play in that way, and it ups the stakes as important things can be happening in the background at any moment and the actors have to stay in character for the majority of the film. The movie doesn't shy away from keeping the background characters and set from staying consistent and logically present. Another element that must be mentioned when talking about any Tarantino film, but especially this one in particular is the violence. And I just have to say 'wow,' because this is one violent movie. Easily Tarantino's most brutal film to date, even beating out such scenes as The crazy 88 fight of Kill Bill and the cinema massacre of Inglorious Basterds; The Hateful Eight certainly earned it's R18+ rating. The film makes even gun combat feel close and personal. I will not spoil anything but I will say that not everybody makes it out alive by the end of the film, and the moments of human deduction are glorious. (Dare I say GORE-ious? Nah, I probably shouldn't actually.) The movie is extremely long, but copes without feeling like it's dragging. The film starts off slow for sure, but this isn't a bad thing. It needs to – This makes where it's headed that much more impactive. That being said the dialogue keeps up and doesn't slow down, and we get a feel of who the characters are and what their relationships are like or might become right off the bat. It never feels boring and once it really 'gets into it' You can't look away. The pacing is absolutely perfect and there's never a dull moment. The momentum keeps everything going steadily – only thing is, the movie's a car headed for a brick wall, and we as an audience sit there sadistically waiting for it all to wildly explode.
The Hateful Eight is Vicious, funny, intense and even a little cartoon-y all while managing to stay serious in tone and suspenseful throughout. Competing closely to The Revenant, I suspect this movie will land as one of my top 10 movies of 2016.
10/10