A Tarantino Death - Review of The Hateful Eight

Late-60’s movie appeal, frequent face close-ups, blood splattering from everywhere on everything, and a script filled with ‘niggas’ and ‘motherf**kers’ – yep, you’re in a Tarantino film, and you bet your buns it’s good. The 60’s style title card fonts, the ominous wild west music and the obvious feeling of impending doom of half the cast (it is a Tarantino film after all) pulls you right into the mood for action, even though for a staggering length of 187 minutes. 

It’s a pity that Indian masses get to witness this spectacle so late, compared to the rest of the world. In such a scenario, a review gets rendered out-of-date. Nevertheless, here goes.

The Hateful Eight has been written and structured more like a stage play rather than a feature film. The entire film is basically set between two principal location points – an interior known to the viewer as the stagecoach lodge named Minnie’s Haberdashery, and the snowy exterior, the details of which hold minimal relevance. 

Taking plot devices from many of Tarantino’s previous films, principally Pulp Fiction, the Kill Bill duology and Reservoir Dogs, the film is set in post-Civil War era. Eight distinct individuals, very randomly connected to one another, and all headed to a spot called Red Rock, meet in a stagecoach lodge, while waiting for a blizzard to die down - Two bounty hunters, a sheriff, a wanted felon, an English hangman, a cowboy, a Confederate general, and a Mexican. In those gun-slinging times, one wouldn’t be surprised if bullets start spraying at the drop of a hat, and that forms the remainder of the story.

In typical Tarantino fashion, the film is laced with expletives, blood, and detailed conversations between singular sets of characters. Excellent costume design, some gritty background score by Ennio Morricone, and a golden cast including frequent collaborators such as Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern and New Zealander stuntwoman Zoe Bell (add to that an extended cameo by Channing Tatum) – The Hateful Eight is more like a skilled thesis into the entire Tarantino legacy, albeit by Tarantino himself.

This has to be one of the most contained performances delivered by Samuel L.Jackson in all of QT’s films, with not one single ‘motherf**ker’ coming off his tongue as Major Marquis Warren a.k.a. The Bounty Hunter (that was a letdown really). Kurt Russell pockets much of the attention for the time he spends on screen, delivering a performance, worth every bent penny.    

Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh as John 'The Hangman' Ruth
and Daisy 'The Prisoner' Domergue respectively

Special mention must go to Jennifer Jason Leigh, for her performance as the mad, racist outlaw, Daisy Domergue a.k.a. the Prisoner. But then, that has already been acknowledged by the right people, judging her nomination for the 86th Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. 

Though commendable, I still find the film lacking in particular, in the originality department. Any amateur Tarantino enthusiast could point out the repetitive plot influences the movie had from previous of the director's films. But then, if one considers the film like I do, which is a kitty-party  all things QT, all that just slides.

Verdict – 4 out of 5 stars

Don't be greedy Jackson!

The Hateful Eight is reminiscent of all the ingredients of a neat Tarantino cake, specifically the backdrop of something cool and contained like a tea-table conversation, building upto a bloody and eloquent gun battle between all the characters. As the last film (apparently), it rounds up all his main hombres, for the perfect cinematic get-together. And boy, do these people know how to get together!!

Though the runtime of 3 hours makes the movie somewhat sleep inducing at turns (matter of few minutes though), in the end, it evens itself out correctly, in an ending not too distinguished from that of Reservoir Dogs. 

Plot Checkmate : Review of Wazir

"Khel khel mein, khel khel ke, khel khel ye aa jaega"

Amitabh Bachchan has reached a long distance in his career and experimented with a plethora of roles. He’s played drunkards, patriarchs, gangsters, American gangsters, progeriacs, and Dhanush's voice. So character-wise, there isn’t actually much ground left to cover. So what should be done about it? Then someone went, “I know! Let’s make him a drunken amputee! Who plays Shatranj!! That should do the trick.”

At the first look, Wazir seems like an ambitious project; with Vidhu Vinod Chopra producing and co-writing it with Abhijat Joshi, and Bejoy Nambiar at the helm of affairs, with Farhan Akhtar and Big B in the lead. It starts of as one too. Danish Ali (Akhtar) is a cop who has lost his daughter at the hands of a terrorist and wishes to have revenge upon the organisation responsible. Omkar Nath Dhar a.k.a. Panditji (Big B) shares a similar loss, albeit apparently at the hands of a high ranking politico. A friendship sparks off between the two, which is tested when Panditji life is endangered by an unknown mastermind who calls himself Wazir (Neil Nitin Mukesh).

Going by the above statements, half the people would laugh their guts out at the very mention of Neil’s name. But make no mistake, in the small span of screen time that Neil had, there was actually some commendable output provided by him, with some crisp, evil, dialogue delivery, and a slightly putting-on edge maniac-ish persona. And I know I take a risk when I say this... but I was actually disappointed at the fact that he was not in the movie more (THERE! I said it!!).

Talking disappointments, let’s talk about the plot.

On second thought, let’s just not. Wafer-thin, and not as thrilling as the trailers made it out to be, half the people will have guessed the twist way before it even happens. The filmmakers are not completely at fault there. As audiences, we have become so used to twist-endings and suspenses, that now, we start getting all Sherlock-y the minute a movie starts. BUT, then again, at least one (read: the filmmakers) can cover up the holes on their end, holes being the numerous points where the story of Wazir had been leaking about and passing key points of information that were supposed to be kept locked till the opportune moment. Even the climax though not completely flaccid, fused out way earlier and way sleepier than the audience could realise.

Nonetheless, one really cannot criticise this film on the acting front. Farhan is supposed to look like a tough, impulsive cop, and he fits the bill. Big B is supposed to look like a man on a wheelchair, and Voila! Special praise is due to Manav Kaul who plays a political figure with a mysterious background, and a creepy daughter (Come to think of it, there are a LOT of daughters in this film). John Abraham makes a cameo as a govt. agent, borrowing much from his reel self in Madras Cafe. Even his presence was cut down abruptly (I know it’s a cameo, but seriously?)

 

VERDICT – 2 ½ out of 5 stars.

(Coincidence! Throughout the film Amitabh ranted about the 2 & a 1/2 moves of the ghoda (knight)). 

The game of Chess, or shatranj (the urdu name stressed upon throughout the film) has close to 69 trillion possible moves in one single game. So one could reasonably assume that if a good player should not do something, it is to inadvertently reveal his gameplan mid-play. Wazir fails to work upon that basic prerequisite, and thus falls short of being the suspense thriller it was expected to be. And believe me, there were expectations.