[Movie] The Hateful Eight Movie Review
When I first heard about the movie, the hateful eight, I think it was my brother that introduced me to the movie, so I searched it up and I saw that it was a Quentin Tarantino film, so I already expected violence, unusual characters and a lot of talking. The Hateful Eight is a Old Western thriller written and directed by Quentin Tarantino starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and a host of others. The movie is set sometime after the American Civil War and follows a group of strangers who are forced to seek shelter together during a terrible winter storm.
John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) is a bounty hunter transporting a prisoner, Daisy Domergue to the town of Red Rock. Along the way, he picks up Major Marquis Warren played by Samuel L. Jackson, another bounty hunter carrying several bodies with him, and Chris Mannix by Walton Goggins, who claims to be the new sheriff of Red Rock.
The weather becomes increasingly dangerous, because it was a snow storm, forcing the group to stop at a remote stagecoach lodge called Minnie's Haberdashery. What should have been a temporary shelter quickly becomes something much more complicated when they discover that several other strangers are already there. There is Bob, who claims to be looking after the lodge while Minnie is away. There is Oswaldo Mobrey, who says he is the new sheriff of Red Rock. There is Joe Gage, a quiet cowboy travelling home to see his mother and there is General Sandy Smithers, an elderly former Confederate general who is waiting for news about his son.
At first, its just normal and everyone is simply trying to survive the storm but as time went on something doesn't feel right. John Ruth becomes suspicious of the people around him and begins questioning whether everyone in the lodge is actually who they claim to be and this is where the movie really begins.
Let me just say this first, the Hateful Eight is a very long movie, it is almost three hours, Tarantino asks you to sit down and spend a considerable amount of time with these characters but strangely enough, I didn't find the length as frustrating as I expected because the movie understands that its greatest weapon isn't the action. It is the conversation or should I say the plot, it was so captivating. This is probably one of the most dialogue-heavy Westerns I've watched and Tarantino makes conversations about seemingly ordinary things feel incredibly important because you know that at any moment, something could go horribly wrong.
That is what I enjoyed most about the movie, the tension, the suspense , the trying to figure out what is really going on and who is who, I always love a good mystery and this movie does not disappoint. There is this constant feeling that something isn't right. You know that at least one person in that room is hiding something, but you don't know exactly who it is. I envy people that get to watch it for the very first time because it is just amazing.
Samuel L. Jackson is absolutely brilliant as Major Marquis Warren. He walks into the movie with this incredible confidence like only Samuel L Jackson can and immediately feels like someone you shouldn't underestimate. He is intelligent, observant and extremely comfortable with violence and how could I forget Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix. I honestly didn't know what to make of this guy half the time. He talks so much and is constantly trying to prove himself, particularly when he tells everyone that he is the new sheriff of Red Rock. His relationship with Major Warren is also fascinating because the two clearly have completely different views of the world.
One thing Tarantino does extremely well is create characters that you don't necessarily like but still find fascinating. Almost everyone in this movie is morally questionable in one way or another. There are no traditional heroes who are going to ride into town and save everyone. These are people with their own histories, prejudices, motives and secrets and honestly, the title tells you exactly what you're getting i.e. The Hateful Eight
Another thing I appreciated is how the movie slowly changes from a Western into something closer to a murder mystery. At the beginning, you might think you're watching a fairly straightforward story about bounty hunters trying to reach a town. Then the movie starts dropping little pieces of information and suddenly you're trying to solve the mystery alongside the characters. I found myself constantly changing my mind about certain characters. Just when you think you've figured something out, another piece of information appears and suddenly you're questioning everything again.
Ultimately I think the Hateful Eight is one of those movies that you just have no choice but to enjoy, except of course if you don’t like violence in movies but there is no way this movie cannot be rated high by anyone who watches it. It is just that good!!
Rating: 95/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/movies.