The Hateful Eight (2015)

Written by Nathan on December 1, 2022

The Hateful Eight is a fantastic western tale of deception that I loved. Only Quentin Tarantino can fill almost an entire movie with just dialogue while still being captivating and engaging.

From start to finish, this film is filled with witty dialogue and dry humor that had me genuinely cracking up. The characters are all stereotypes on a comedic level, but when the writing is this good, they become much more than that. Each character had some level of depth and uniqueness that gave this somewhat dry and slow plot a spark that continually kept the flame of the story burning.

Samuel L. Jackson is brilliant, this movie was directly written for him, and he makes use of every second of screen time he is given. His comedic delivery is excellent and towards the end of the movie his slyness and witty detective work are mesmerizing. Kurt Russell is hilariously stupid and his relationship with his captee (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is hilarious, sweet, and sometimes demented. Walton Goggins was so damn funny here; this is my favorite performance by him. He makes this movie, and the ending resolution would not be the same without him. Tim Roth was awesome, and all the other gang members were great too. The only one that kind of stuck out was Channing Tatum. I do not know if it was my bias of his based on his previous work, but I did not buy him in this film. Felt really out of place and unnecessarily cast on his name sack alone.

Despite the slow pace and long runtime, this film is an utter masterpiece that keeps the viewer engaged and constantly curious about what the true motivations are behind each of our eight characters. The chapter-like structure is fantastic and there are some Pulp Fiction elements here in terms of storytelling order which I loved. While this may not be Tarantino's best film, it is still an incredible product and another classic added to his filmography.

Score: 90% | Verdict: Excellent