Quentin Tarantino is back with his ninth film, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, pleasing his hardcore fans and moviegoers with a original and satisfying story. While some are put off by Tarantino's use of gore and violence, Once Upon A Time relies on character development and suspense rather than gore. Despite the movie being based around the gruesome Tate Murders, the violence and gore is kept to a minimum and is really used for storytelling and even comedic purposes.
Where the movie really shines is giving life to the two main characters, Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton and Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth. The movie's 2 hour and 45 minute runtime gives ample time to paint a picture of these men's lives, their past and their present, which helps the audience invest and care about the characters. This character-centric storytelling is the main reason why the movie really shines. Despite the long runtime the movie never feels boring and every scene paints a clearer picture of a character's life. This is very refreshing to watch as many modern movies make use of building up to a final climax which leave scenes earlier in the movie to seem less important and even boring.
Another refreshing take in this movie is Tarantino's brilliant mix of genres. Tarantino blends comedy, suspense, and horror to make a truly genre-less film. This film was truly a delight to watch and will please Tarantino's fan base, and I believe, even those who aren't fans of his previous work.
