Not Tarantino's best overall but the second half is incredible

Rating: 9/10 (14 February 2016)

I had heard mixed reviews from people I knew going into 'The Hateful Eight', some saying they were let down, others saying it was Tarantino's best yet, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Then, at about the one hour mark I realised I wasn't enjoying myself as much as I usually am in one of his films. Something just wasn't right. I'm always very patient with dialogue in his movies, because even if it has nothing to do with the story at hand, it's still usually a pleasure to listen to. However I wasn't finding that on this occasion. It didn't feel like a Tarantino film. I was aware that he had, at one stage, decided to pull out of making it due to the script being leaked, and I wondered whether in fact this had been an attempt to not make a film based on what was a weak script. Then the second half kicked in and things got a whole lot better.
The first half, in comparison to the second half, of this film are chalk and cheese. As soon as Samuel L. Jackson's character begins a certain speech, about a certain thing he did, things ignite and never cease. Sadly a lot of damage has been done to the reputation of the film in that first hour and a half or so, but things just become so damn entertaining after that that you're almost willing to completely forgive. When Tarantino is in form there is no filmmaker in the world that can match him. He has an ability to do things that if any other filmmaker in the world tried they'd seem ridiculous. However when he does them, they seem unbelievably stylish and effective. He also always gets the best out of his actors.
Jennifer Jason Leigh has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance here and rightly so. Of the main characters she's the only female in a very violent and ego-driven lot, and yet she completely holds her own. To be honest I was barely familiar with her as an actress at all before this, but now if I see her name in something I will take note. I don't think she quite has a shot at winning the award but her nomination is undoubtedly thoroughly deserved.
Nearing three hours in runtime is really testing the patience of a lot of film goers in the modern day. There are filmmakers who can pull it off without you even noticing this is the case, and Tarantino is one of them, but 'The Hateful Eight' is not. There is not enough happening in the first half to keep the audience's attention and while the pay off is unquestionably brilliant, Tarantino is good enough to make the set-up equally entertaining. He failed to do that here. That really is the only criticism though of an otherwise incredibly fine film. As always I can't wait to see what the man does next.