Mostly solid parlor mystery a la Tarantino

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2016)

For the most part, Quentin Tarantino has been on a roll since the early 90's, and none of his films could be considered objectively "bad." Still, some are better (or more enjoyable) than others. After two solid (but imperfect) classics in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and DJANGO UNCHAINED, his follow-up, THE HATEFUL EIGHT, was kind of a step back for me. By no means am I calling THE HATEFUL bad, but it had a mean streak that undermined the fun I usually expect from Tarantino's films. The plot involves a group of eight travelers to Red Rock who converge on a bar called Minnie's Haberdashery. While there, suspicion on all sides leads to conflict. As far as Tarantino movies go, this one fits right in. All the requisite elements are there: cool dialogue, a great soundtrack, and explosions of violence. The difference here is primarily one of pacing, which might turn some people off. I didn't mind it so much, but I would understand if others did. As indicated by the title, there are no likable characters to be found, although they all do have their moments to shine. My favorite characters ended up being Samuel L. Jackson's Major Marquis Warren (no surprise) and (big surprise) Walton Goggins' Chris Mannix. The only odd fit, despite being a prior Tarantino regular, was Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray, who seemed to be doing a Christoph Waltz impression most of the time. Generally speaking, all the performances were good, though. My biggest issue with the film itself has to be how the mystery reveals are handled in the second half. There were no clues given as to the answer, and revealing everything in flashback without hinting at anything first (at least that I noticed on one viewing) just smacked of weak writing. Ultimately, though, THE HATEFUL EIGHT has all of the Tarantino hallmarks and is a decent film for it. Also worth noting is the score by Ennio Morricone, comprising unused cues from John Carpenter's THE THING, an interesting detail that makes complete sense when you consider how thematically similar the two films are. My only reservations would be to people not yet initiated into Tarantino's style, or those who don't like profanity and graphic violence. Otherwise, THE HATEFUL EIGHT is definitely worth a watch.