Visually stunning, but lacks in story...

Rating: 7/10 (29 August 2016)

I've seen this film at a regular cinema, in 70mm film and in the home. While the film is visually and stylistically stunning, unfortunately I think the story does let it down. Considering Tarantino is known for making great movies and I am a big fan of his work, I was bit let down this time around, it wasn't a bad film by any means, but by Tarantino standards, this is probably his weakest film since Death Proof in my humble opinion.
Visually this film is stunning. I saw it in 70mm film and the picture quality blew me away, it was a cinema experience like no other. I could really see the benefit of 70mm's super wide aspect ratio as the film did feel almost like a stage play and enabled the audience to see characters at opposite ends of the cabin. I'm glad I saw it in 70mm, because now it's out on Blu-ray and iTunes, the home media doesn't even come close to doing the the stunning cinematography justice.
But with that said I would probably would have let that slide if the story was more exciting. With such a stunning group of actors on board, I had high hopes, but unfortunately most of the characters were not particularly likable, nor very interesting, although Jennifer Jason Leigh was very good as the villain and she made me laugh a few times and Kurt Russell and Samuel L Jackson had their moments, the rest of them I didn't find particularly interesting or likable. Yes, the film is called 'The Hateful Eight' for a good reason, but the main characters didn't have enough qualities that made me want to at least root for them.
Basically it's a three hour film set mostly in a cabin where a bounty hunter is taking a dangerous prisoner to be hanged, and on the way another bounty hunter and a guy who claims to be the new town sheriff hitch a ride in his stagecoach and shack up in a cabin with a bunch of other individuals during a blizzard. They don't trust each other and, well, being a Tarantino movie you can pretty much guess what's going to happen...
The idea had potential, it was well shot, well directed and there was a stellar cast involved, so there was a lot of promise here. But unfortunately pretty pictures and great cinematography aren't enough to make an otherwise OK film a great one. It wasn't bad by any means, but the lack of likable protagonists and the predictable plot let the film down for me, plus the fact it was three hours long didn't do it any favours, because it dragged on at times.
And unfortunately, like Avatar, they were both great visual experiences in the cinema, but once you see them on home media, the best part of the film is then lost and you're left with an OK film on digital media that simply doesn't do the visuals justice. It's such a shame.