2007 Ranked
Non-2018 First Time Watches Ranked
Directors Ranked: Quentin Tarantino

Film #51 of my 100 Degrees, 100 Movies Challenge

Common actor from previous film: Rose McGowan

PREVIOUS FILM: Planet Terror
NEXT FILM: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

"Zoë's from New Zealand. And you never, I repeat, NEVER, call a Kiwi an Aussie."

Well, I finally found a Tarantino film I didn't like. There were some redeeming qualities but I found it to be, in places, criminally boring.

First off, I loved Kurt Russell. He was excellent and it seems Tarantino focused his attention on him. Russell had the best scenes, and in my mind, the only snappy "Tarantino-esque" dialogue. Other than that, I just wasn't in to any of the characters. Even having Kiwi icon Zoe Bell couldn't save this for me. I guess having essentially two different groups of protagonists meant we didn't get great character development and one thing Tarantino always delivers is a strong, well-developed hero.

The driving stunts were all excellent, and in this sense, Bell is a fucking boss. I also liked the practical effects in the deaths, and the replaying of that first crash from each different camera angle was awesome.

But as I said before, if Kurt Russell wasn't involved, then the dialogue just wasn't great. Like, it was ok, because it's Tarantino but it was easily his worst effort. The only other exception is the line I used in my quote above because I can relate to that on a personal level. Calling a Kiwi an Aussie is worse than saying you fucked their mother.

Also, Mary Elizabeth Winstead in a cheerleaders outfit works for me...