Not "Hate"ful 8, more like "OK"ful 8

Rating: 6/10 (5 January 2016)

While this isn't a terrible movie, it is honestly the first time I've walked out of a Quentin Tarantino movie saying "......eh". After Django, you can't blame Quentin for wanting another western (I believe he's been wanting to make this movie for years now), but because of the new elements and success Django brought, Hateful 8 feels like it's too little too late. Again, this isn't a bad outcome. It's just not what you'd expect from Tarantino. I'll start with the good. The one thing all of Quentin's movies is dead on with is the dialogue. This script is awesome. The fact that you can put few actors in one or two settings and have them go back and forth for 2 ½ hours takes amounts of talent that people underestimate these days. That being said, that can't be the only aspect of your movie. The casting choice is questionable. The thing that made Django so great was that you were seeing great actors who had never had roles anything close to the ones in Django. In Hateful 8, you have a lot of the Tarantino alumni. None of these actors are awful in their role, but with as much dialogue as this movie has, you can't help but wonder who else could have been cast and really given the movie a new identity. Apart from Jenifer Jason Leigh (who is well deserving of her Golden Globe nomination) there's really no stand out characters. Now as I said before, the script is fantastic. However, dialogue can't be the only focus of a movie, especially these days. One thing Tarantino has molded himself into is directing violent and bloody action. We only receive a small taste of that in Hateful 8. Throughout the movie, you find yourself waiting for that sequence where all hell breaks loose, but it never comes. A one-time view of this movie is great. The humor is there. There's a few "what the f***" scenes that are very entertaining. The score sets the perfect tone (also very deserving of its nomination). But I have a hard time believing this will be a movie that I will ever take the time to watch again.