[Review] Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood (7/10)

Title - Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood
Studio - Sony Pictures
Starring - Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Madsen, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, Margaret Qualley, Al Pacino, Austin Butler, Julia Butters, Bruce Dern, Mike Moh, Lena Dunham
Writer - Quentin Tarantino
Director - Quentin Tarantino
Release - 26 July 2019

I think Tarantino has lost it a little bit. This movie did not need to be 2 hours and 40 odd minutes long.


The Good:

- DiCaprio gave a brilliant performance, particularly in the scene where he was on the set and acting opposite Timothy Olyphant. I believe another nomination is in order.

- Pitt also gave another very memorable performance; not his best but definitely one in recent years.

- Butters was a surprise and played off DiCaprio's character so drastically opposite that their scenes were really funny.

- Tarantino's focus on the two main lead characters had great build-up and satisfying closures.

- Pitt's whole sequence with the hippies and Fanning, as well as that last 20 minutes, once again had great build-ups and a joy to watch.


The Bad:

- Why did we get such long sequences of just Pitt driving around Hollywood. I tried to look at it from an artistic point of view or a transitional angle but found no reason for them to be there.

- Robbie had almost nothing to do except to smile and look pretty. She was almost wasted in this movie had it not for her magnetism making her character immediately likeable. But was that enough?

- There were scenes and characters, like Robbie's character going to a house party where Damian Lewis was playing Steve McQueen, could have been removed and we would not have missed anything. Take out Michael Madsen and we would not have missed anything.


There were a lot of great performances and great storytelling, but then also a lot of fluff.