The Hateful Eight Review

The Hateful Eight

"Move a little strange, you're gonna get a bullet. Not a warning, not a question...A bullet!" -Major Marquis Warren

    The new mystery/drama/action/comedy, or in other words a Quentin Tarantino movie, The Hateful Eight, is directed and written by the man himself Quentin Tarantino and stars Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren, Kurt Russell as John Ruth, Walton Goggins as Sheriff Chris Mannix, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue, Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray, Michael Madsen as Joe Gage, Demian Bichir as Bob, Bruce Dern as General Sandy Smithers, and James Parks as O.B. Jackson.

 ^Quentin and gang^

    The Hateful Eight is another one of Quentin's films that is  mostly set in one place, this place being Minnie's Haberdashery. John 'The Hangman' Ruth is a bounty hunter and is on set to go to the town of Red Rock, Wyoming to bring his prisoner Daisy Domergue in exchange for 10,000 dollars. Along the way, they run into Major Marquis Warren and later, Sheriff Chris Mannix,who both end up riding along with them in the midst of an intense blizzard. The five characters (including the driver of the horse carriage, O.B. Jackson) seek shelter at a small cabin known as Minnie's Haberdashery where four other people are sheltered from the storm, Oswaldo Mobray, Joe Gage, Bob, and General Sandy Smithers. During the stay, Warren notices people acting strange and comes to the conclusion that one, or all, of the people at the cabin is not who they say they are. The Hateful Eight then turns into a mystery story sort of like the board game/movie Clue. Blood and gore spills and cursing is thrown around like nobody can hear, thus making The Hateful Eight a classic Quentin Tarantino film.

 ^Ahh. Quentin, you've done it again, you crazy amazing bastard.^

     Quentin Tarantino filmed The Hateful Eight in 70mm film which basically means the film has a wide high-resolution film gauge for both still and motion pictures. It has higher resolution than the standard 35 mm film format format. Most films nowadays are using digital filming more and more and it really is hard to tell by the regular viewer which is which. However, 70 mm film is the classic and better film for the experience it gives in theaters. Sorry about that little tangent. Now onto the movie itself.

^Alright, Alright! I'm going!^

     I rarely say this about movies overall, but, like most of Quentin's movies, I had fun with The Hateful Eight. It wasn't just a cool and insane movie, but the experience was very enjoyable. The audience got really engaged by laughing and moaning in disgust to some of the scenes. There was even an intermission at the halfway point of the movie! Rightly so because The Hateful Eight is a little over 3 hours. It was something straight out of a 60's film which, by the way, I would love to go back to that time to just watch a movie.

 ^General Sandy Smithers' reaction to how Marquis Warren killed and violated his son. It's really REALLY messed up.^

     The whole casts' performance in The Hateful Eight was fantastic. Jeniffer Jason Leigh is nominated for a golden globe for best supporting actress in a motion picture and I completely agree with that choice. For me, Samuel L.  Jackson's performance stole the show. His madness is shown on screen and I couldn't be more happier. Sam has a type of role that makes it seem as though you question everyone you know who you know has a good heart. It isn't as tough he is a bad person, but he does what's best for himself even if it means scaring or killing them. Tarantino is the writer and I think he does an incredible job with the dialogue, but Sam, like in previous films, really brings the gold in how he says it. All this praise doesn't exclude the fact that Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and the rest of the cast made Oscar worthy performances, but Sam really tops it all.

 ^If you see this man walking towards you on a long and narrow street, you're pretty much out of luck. Sorry.^

     The Hateful Eight isn't without its cracks. The biggest noticeable flaw that it has is the repetitive Quentin Tarantino trademark (i.e. long monologues by characters, heavy and over the top gore, 'Chapters' to tell the story, etc.). None of this is bad in any way whatsoever. I love watching his movies, but there is a theme in the storytelling that does get a little repetitive. However, Tarantino has a great batting average when it comes to directing and writing. I would say The Hateful Eight is a triple that could have almost been a home run if it weren't for Tarantino relying on the dialogue for the first half of the movie and then the over the top violence for the second half. In any case, Tarantino does well for The Hateful Eight and I'd love to see many more films if he doesn't retire early.

 ^The biggest film buff in Hollywood: Quentin Tarantino!^

    Whether it was the bloody scenes in which people get their heads blown off or the smart and incredible dialogue given by the actors and Tarantino, there is always an art in which The Hateful Eight delivers. There haven't been many experiences this year like Quentin's movie and for that I have to urge everyone to go watch it. I had a blast listening to Samuel L. Jackson give speeches that come from straight lunacy while watching those flashbacks of utter revulsion. It was hilarious nontheless.

Pro

• Quentin Tarantino's writing and directing
• Samuel L. Jackson's performance, along with the rest of the cast
• Comical violence to the max
• Unique experience

Con

• Repetitive Tarantino trademark

 

4.8/5

 

The Hateful Eight is rated R for strong bloody violence, a scene of violent sexual content, language and some graphic nudity

 

Watch the trailer here

 

The Hateful Eight is in select theaters now and everywhere on January 1, 2016

 

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