The Hateful Eight

In the dismal premise of The Hateful Eight, everyone will tear each other apart; their self-interests are the sole basis for mutual trust. The film's opening scene drives home that point, as John Ruth (by Russell) makes judgments solely on the basis of whether another person's self-interest matches with his own. There is no sympathy, compassion, or trust - only ego. This concept results in a frigid and tiny world that Tarantino (for some strange reason) decided to present in a 70mm dimension.

The immense grandeur - both physically and narratively - ultimately works against Tarantino's mean little narrative, and transforms what should be a taut thriller into a rambling drag. What makes The Hateful Eight so infuriating is that its themes are brutally contemporary, and they seem like a follow-up of Tarantino's interesting exploration of racial power relations in Django Unchained. However, the film's trappings seem like an overindulgence on the part of the writer/director - so much that Hateful Eight lacks all its intensity.

While it feels right for Ruth to present himself to everybody at Minnie's Haberdashery, the process takes forever, and this kind of sluggish pace transforms a languid narrative into one that is dull. While many Tarantino fans like Hateful Eight, they have no wish to return to it.

Release year: 2015

Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell

IMDB score: 7.8/10