Tarantino Does it Again

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2015)

To get the full effect of the movie I would recommend that you see the 70mm roadshow version before it's too late. The overture and intermission (with somewhat of an entr'acte leading into act 2) along with the fact that the movie was filmed with the same lenses used to film Ben-Hur bring back a method of exhibition I was never able to experience before in my lifetime.
I admit I have a bias towards Tarantino, but honestly there were only a few flaws in the film, unlike what all the haters are saying. So before I get into the positives I'm going to refute the negatives. I've read this film is too long and "overwritten." Incorrect. I can't speak for the digital version yet, but the intermission gives you a chance to breathe before watching the second half of the film. Also, it may have a long duration, but (to me at least) it didn't feel THAT long. The dialogue is compelling enough to keep you on the edge of your seat since it gets very tense from time to time.
Another claim is that the mystery is not clever. While I would say yes to this, I would respond by saying that as you're experiencing the movie you come to realize that it really isn't trying to be clever, especially with Chapter Five following the "reveal" at the end of Chapter Four. Tarantino may have described it is like an Agatha Christie story, but who said he was trying to make a mystery as fully fleshed out as her stories? This is one of the reasons that justifies why the mystery aspect of the movie didn't come across clearly in the trailers. Although, to be fair, the main plot of this movie is difficult to explain, but the trailer does its best with Kurt Russell's "I'm taking this woman to hang" segment. The main problem I have with this film is basically the same one I had with Reservoir Dogs: it is a movie specifically focused on an ensemble, yet some of the main ensemble do not receive as much screen time and character development as others.
These flaws are minor, and the pros heavily outweigh the cons. If you're experiencing this movie with a multitude of Tarantino fans as I did you're going to laugh at all the right moments. This is actually one of the funniest Tarantino movies I have ever seen, delivering great comic bits even in the most dramatic and tense sequences of the movie. Tarantino should honestly be the name of a genre in itself since he combines the comic with the dramatic time and time again within his films.
This film is bloody as can be expected. And while some will have to avert their eyes from what happens on the screen, it is once again violence that is more ridiculous than disturbing or upsetting. But don't get me wrong, if you're not used to Tarantino violence, this movie may scar you mentally.
My favorite sequence in the film is what occurs just before intermission because it made my jaw drop. You want to love Marquis Warren (Jackson), but this truly is The Hateful Eight, and you will hate him at the conclusion of the first half.
Overall this movie seems like 2 different movies, the first seeming longer since it needs to establish what is happening in the first 3 chapters. And the last three chapters seem to go by quickly with all the fun Tarantino traits packed into them - you know, like Tarantino making a "cameo" by narrating in a comic manner, a jump in chronology - revitalizing the good ol' days of Pulp Fiction - and all the blood, humor, and intensity you can ask for.
Finally, this film is simply satisfying at its conclusion which always sells a movie in my book. See this film!
4.0/4.0