The Hateful Eight: 8 Reasons It's Quentin Tarantino's Best Film Since Pulp Fiction

8. It Brings All The Best Elements Of His Previous Movies Together

Any film from a director given total creative freedom will share specific elements with their other movies (none moreso than Tarantino, in fact), but here it doesn't just feel like another movie. Instead, key elements of style he's developed over the past couple of decades come together to make a damn-near perfect whole; a culmination of his career (so far). I already made a big point about this in my review, but it's such an essential part of The Hateful Eight as both an experience and a piece of filmmaking that it needs mentioning here. Obviously there's clear structural similarities with Reservoir Dogs, the period setting is similar to Django and there's a big overlap of actors from various projects, but it's when you start looking at how the movie has been put together that this becomes crystal clear; whereas previous Tarantino films have been built around homaging other movies, this one almost seems to be referencing his own and refining previous ideas. Let's take a specific example. In the latter half of the movie there's an extended flashback, which comes just after a series major twists in the narrative, that provides essential backstory and ties into an earlier moment you'd not paid much attention to. Now there's distinct bits from Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Inglourious there, and they're all coming together to create one of The Hateful Eight's best moments. I can't go into much more detail without spoiling the film, but what this ultimately highlights is just how much Tarantino's still developing as a filmmaker.