Not the best Western or Tarantino film

Rating: 7/10 (19 January 2016)

What do you get if you cross a Tarantino script, a western theme, and a cast of top actors? The answer is the hateful eight. I've seen a lot of 1 star reviews and some 10 star reviews but I'm afraid I sit somewhere in the middle. Before delving into my review I'll get a few points across: (1) this is not your typical western film - this is not akin to a Sergio Leone classics you may have seen. Don't expect roving shots of stark but beautiful scenery, don't expect massive gun fights or duels at noon. It's western in style, appearance and story but not much else beyond that, it'd be more likely to be seen as a stage based murder mystery transformed into a film. (2) this is not an action film, there is action but not what you would expect from a western film; in fact you'd have to wait about an hour and half for the first bit of gunfire. (3) the plot isn't complex - you could edit this down to about half an hour and make a good film but instead this film is closer to 3 hours with long drawn out lead ups. Granted the actions within the film are representative of metaphors for the American civil war and it's futility, but unless you are interested in that branch of history they'll be lost and frankly I didn't care and probably missed loads. (4) the script isn't exciting; the characters take an eternity to develop and there isn't really a likable character throughout, in a way all the characters are bad guys - but maybe sympathising with a bad guy is what Tarantino wanted.
This is by no stretch of the imagination the best Western film you will ever see, but it's Tarantino's take on the genre, which will be more suited to modern audiences who like bloodshed and bad language rather than the generation brought up on westerns. There was an element of racism in the film which made me feel slightly uncomfortable. I realise it was intended to be more authentic of the age but how many times can the characters say the N word in a film? Tarantino's previous film Django Unchained seemed to overuse it too but that could be forgiven as the underlying theme of the film dealt with slavery so it didn't feel as offensive, this film on the other hand didn't seem to give a damn and was happy to overuse words to hammer home offence. The pointless interracial homosexual oral rape scene was less offensive than some of the derogatory language used just because it could.
Like other Tarantino films this film is split into chapters - each which help the audience focus on key events which ultimately contribute towards the final climax of the movie. I understand that the chapters help control the narrative drive and timing of the film but it feels a little bit overdone now, how dumb must an audience be if they don't know how to interpret time and causality in the film?
In the film 4 people with different motivation find themselves on a stagecoach heading for Minnie's haberdashery, which is serving as a stop off to escape a blizzard on the way to Red Rock. Waiting for them at the haberdashery are 5 more people all with their own reasons for being there. It's important not to believe anything you don't see or hear yourself, it's more of a murder mystery remember. The real mystery begins the moment the doors are closed, where is Minnie and what connects all 9 strangers?! Yes, there are 9 people so why the title suggests a hateful eight isn't clear until later in the film.
Not fun, not his best film, almost like it was made because it could be made rather than to deliver a message or suspend audiences disbelief. 7 out of 10 stars.