The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight

Plot in a nutshell: This one has many layers so this is only a very small nutshell - Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) is on his way to collect the bounty on 3 corpses when he encounters a carriage on the way to the local town - Red Rock. After needing to stop because of the storm this bounty hunter falls into a whodunit in a shelter in the middle of nowhere in the Wyoming mountains. A friend who saw this film before I had gave it the following description and he's not far wrong - It's "Murder on The Orient Express" crossed with cowboys in a B&B

My thoughts: I went into this film with mixed feelings. Historically I haven't been the biggest fan of Tarantino films if truth be told, some I can get in to - Reservoir Dogs and to a lesser extent Django Unchained, but some so-called classics I just don't get - Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds.

The 8th film directed by Tarantino, The Hateful Eight starts as many of his previous works have done, with the beginning. Opening credits in some films are weak, but my God this was poor. Whilst I like the music throughout, it was just a load of noise with names and nothing happening. Okay the image you stare at for around 5 minutes comes back later in the film but plays absolutely no significance. It could have done some far-fetched, make believe, crazy sequence like a Bond film but hey, each to their own.

If you've ever seen a Tarantino film, it follows the same structure as many of the others - starts off a little slow bringing you up to speed, then it gets a bit tetchy where you're not sure who's on who's side and then finally it  kicks off big time with the special effects crew (from 1984) being given a blank cheque for dodgy gore scenes. That last point is one of the reasons Tarantino's films have left a sour taste in my mouth if truth be told. I'm of that generation who has been raised with computers and graphics to make things look vaguely real. Tarantino doesn't mess around though, he likes it his way and I'm sure he will keep doing it until he stops making films. (At this point his head will explode and bits of pinky red polystyrene "brain" will fly all over his house and there will be an eyeball made from an egg carton and a stick on googly eye stuck to the front stuck to his loved ones face with half a tin of Dulux "blood red" paint).

I won't say too much about different points of the plotline - as essentially a murder mystery film a lot of the entertainment comes from not knowing what's going to happen next - but I've got to say the 2.5 hours flew by. What I was happily surprised by the level of humour in the film. Whilst it was by no means a comedy, it seriously kept flowing and with the occasional mu'fuggah from Major Warren, you never felt like you had to keep the smile off your face. On the topic of  His Greatness - Thanks to social media engagement and a lot of public appearances (which obviously show the public exactly who he is), I'm never quite sure where Samuel L. Jackson ends and the character begins. I think deep down I really do hope he is a genuine mix of Zeus Carver (Die Hard with a Vengeance), Lt Danny Roman (The Negotiator), John Shaft (Shaft), Mace Windu (Star Wars) and Nick Fury (Marvel series). Thanks to Wikipedia for clarifying surnames there for me, I forgot he was in Jurassic Park. Great film

So I've mentioned about the *ahem* special effects Tarantino puts in to his movies and how they aren't my cup of tea. It isn't just the quality of them that tends to irk me in his films, but the sheer volume of them. I'm all for an explosion and a shoot out don't get me wrong, but I tend to find it all gets a bit tiresome when they last for any extended period of time and you have all these body parts falling off and just looking naff - Django I'm looking at you. This film however has the perfect amount. So much little that I think even the most gore-phobic (alternative suggestions of a word welcome) film goer would be ok with it. Yes there are a couple of scenes where it gets a bit tasty, but I literally mean a couple of scenes. They don't detract from what's going on, they don't cheapen the scene and actually one of them has some decent comic timing to it.

Tarantino is one of those directors who likes using a lot of the same actors in his different movies and this one is no exception. We're treated with a familiar cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Zoë Bell, James Parks and Tim Roth. And do you know what? It works. With the exception of Samuel Jackson, I don't find myself thinking I'm watching the same character over and over but in a different outfit (and that's not a bad thing about SLJ, I love the characters he portrays. I think I love him too much to see him as anything other than a witty sarcastic SOB who is ready to beat down on whoever's necessary).

I genuinely was impressed with this film and I wasn't expecting to be. Decent music, decent actors, very decent story and I hadn't figured it all out by the time it was revealed. What more can you ask for?

Verdict: Don't let your preconceived ideas about this film get in the way of you seeing it. It isn't too gory, its light hearted and very watchable. The word nigger is used an awful lot so if you're sensitive to that then maybe it's not your type of film*. For wider audience appeal, it also has Channing Tatum in it so go and see him? Although I'm not sure if I've now put off those who would have originally intended on seeing it.

Go and see it. 7.5/10

* Please note this is not me saying the term is acceptable, nor is it me meaning any offence to those who are offended by the word. This film is set a few years after the American civil war where the word was widely used as a derogatory term for those of African-American heritage. The colour of your skin has absolutely no bearing on what kind of person you are or if I like you or not. If you're a good person then we'll get on fine. Unless you're an Arsenal fan in which case you are a knob by default. Just kidding. But seriously. Jokes. Yeah.