The Samuel L. Jackson Mystery On Netflix You’ll Be Trying Hard To Solve
There are few things as consistently enjoyable as Samuel L Jackson in a Quentin Tarantino film. While all of Tarantinto’s films get plenty of love, his 2015 effort, The Hateful Eight, is one of the more underrated entries to his filmography, and Jackson anchors the film with his performance.
If you missed this film in 2015 or you haven’t checked it out in a while, now is the perfect time to stream it on Netflix.
Samuel L. Jackson teamed with Quentin Tarantino for another dramatic hit with The Hateful Eight, now available in a special extended edition.
The Hateful Eight, as with all Tarantino films, has a star-studded cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, and a surprise role that we won’t spoil here.
As the name implies, the film follows a group of eight strangers in post-Civil War America who have to hole up in a stagecoach stopover while a blizzard rages outside. From there, the film becomes a dramatic thriller and murder mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time.
Samuel L. Jackson has played some iconic characters for Quentin Tarantino over the years, with his character Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction being an obvious choice for one of the best.
Here, Jackson’s role isn’t quite as flashy, but he gives a nuanced performance in a cast stacked with talent and leads the film with the grace you’d expect from an actor with the pedigree Jackson has. The flashy role in this film goes to Jennifer Jason Leigh, who earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as the fugitive “Crazy” Daisy Domergue.
The Hateful Eight cemented the fact that Tarantino could make a great Western after his critically-acclaimed 2012 film Django Unchained, which features another choice performance from Samuel L. Jackson.
The Hateful Eight was originally intended to be a novel sequel titled Django in White Hell, but Tarantino decided the Django character didn’t work in the story.
The Hateful Eight is the perfect film for those who like their movies to play out like a dramatic stageplay. The vast majority of the film takes place in one location, allowing the script and the performances by actors like Samuel L. Jackson to do the heavy lifting for entertainment purposes.
It’s not surprising that Tarantino had plans to make the film into a play, though it seems like that has been scrapped since he announced it in 2016.
While The Hateful Eight did fairly well at the box office, earning $156.5 million worldwide, it was one of the more divisive films of Tarantino’s late-career efforts. While the film was generally praised, it certainly has its share of detractors that didn’t find it as kinetic and groundbreaking as some of his previous films.
The performances by Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and the rest of the cast were praised, but some critics and fans found the film disappointing.
However, even the weaker Quentin Tarantino films are typically worth the watch thanks to the snappy scripts, high production values, and enjoyable casts. Best of all, Netflix makes it worthwhile to check out The Hateful Eight again if you only saw it in theaters when it first came out.
The Hateful Eight: Extended Version on Netflix gives fans more Samuel L. Jackson
In 2019, Netflix released an extended version of the Samuel L. Jackson film that splits the movie up into a four-part miniseries. The Hateful Eight: Extended Version makes the film even more like a play since you can watch the separate acts and split the film into clear sections. Plus, you get additional scenes that the theatrical version didn’t have.
Of course, you can also watch the original theatrical version if you prefer or if you don’t want to watch a longer version of an already long film.
The Hateful Eight is especially worth checking out when you realize it might be the last collaboration between Samuel L Jackson and Quentin Tarantino that we see. Jackson didn’t appear in Tarantino’s most recent film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and there’s no word on if Jackson will appear in Tarantino’s upcoming final film before he retires.
We can always hope that Tarantino will find a juicy role from Jackson, but until then, we’ll have to revisit his previous performances while we wait to hear about the cast for Tarantino’s final film.
