A strong return to form, apparently…
Quentin Tarantino is back, back, back, if the early reviews for his 1960s epic Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood are anything to go by.
You may well make the argument that he never went away, and that genre fare like Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight are all strong entries into his highly specific canon.
You may also make the argument that Tarantino has always been a ‘Greatest Hits’ jukebox of international cinema and blood-soaked B-movies with not all that much to say for himself.
In any event, a Quentin Tarantino movie feels like a big event, and given that he’s teased retirement when he hits 10 movies (this new one is the ninth, despite valid opposition to that figure), we’ll take what we can get while we can get it.
The full official trailer for Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood landed on Tuesday afternoon, and just hours later the film was screened in its entirety at the Cannes Film Festival.
There had previous been talk that Tarantino wouldn’t have the movie edited in time, but he got there in the end, and the resulting critical buzz is highly positive, if tempered by some familiar concerns (it’s long and meandering, shock horror).
Clip via Sony Pictures Entertainment
As of Wednesday morning, the Rotten Tomatoes score stands at 91% with 23 reviews counted.
Tarantino has gone all #ThanosDemandsYourSilence, having requested, via official letter, that critics refrain from straying into spoiler territory.
What we do know is that this thing seemingly has some insane finale, and given that QT is playing with The Manson Family, you wouldn’t bet against him to rewrite history, Basterds-style.
That’s all speculation, though, as the critics have indeed played ball so far. As for some general consensus?
“Tarantino has created outrageous, disorientating entertainment.” – The Guardian
“This curious fairy tale may not be the truth, and it may prattle on too long, but when its stars align, and they let loose with their unmistakable shine, Hollywood movies do seem truly special again.” – Vanity Fair
“Richly evocative, conceptually jaw-dropping, excessively foot-fetishising, inescapably terrifying and unexpectedly poignant movie.” – Los Angeles Times
“Uneven, unwieldy in its structure and not without its flat patches. But it’s also a disarming and characteristically subversive love letter to its inspiration.” – Hollywood Reporter
“Once Upon a Time is an unapologetic fantasy of the kind Tarantino has relished in his recent spate of projects, and this one seems to exist in dialogue with its forebears.” –Â Indiewire
“It sits at the mature end of Tarantino’s work, bringing his tongue-in-cheek storytelling together with exquisite movie craft and killer lead performances from Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.” – Time Out
“All the Tarantino hallmarks are here – the jet-black humour, fine-tuned dialogue, jukebox soundtrack and, yes, bare feet.” – Total Film
We’ll see for ourselves when the film goes on general release on 14 August.
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