Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

The film is a leisurely, enjoyable homage to old Hollywood with wonderful performances, amazing period detail and sensational violence in the finale, serving as an extraordinary career summation even if not a career best.

Tarantino fires on all cylinders in this playful and daring Tinseltown tale that is arguably the most character-driven entry in his CV. The critic singles out the standout performances, especially DiCaprio as the declining star, and the visual splendour for praise.

Quentin Tarantino has made his masterpiece, a monumental leap ahead of his recent work that is better than Pulp Fiction. It praises the sun-kissed evocation of 1969 Hollywood, meticulous production design and the film’s deeper themes around violence and cinematic dreams.

The director’s love letter to 1960s Hollywood, where all women are stereotypes and white men the real victims, disturbs and dazzles in equal measure. It praises the meticulous period details, music choices and cinematography while faulting the baggy structure, indulgences and provocative handling of certain themes.

The film is a likeable buddy movie with brilliant performances and gorgeous filmmaking that celebrates Tarantino's obsessions, but it lacks the zip and intensity of his best work and feels more mature and less showy.

The critic calls the film funny, revisionist and unexpectedly warm-hearted, with terrific performances from Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio that give it wider appeal. It praises the beautiful craft and real affection for Los Angeles of the director's youth.

The critic finds the film an always watchable and at times intensely enjoyable auteurist excursion that indulges in nostalgic fetishes and liberties with history. It praises the luminous recreation of late-1960s Hollywood but notes the film leaves less of a residue than its predecessors.

The film is uneven and unwieldy in structure with some flat patches, but it is a disarming and subversive love letter to late-1960s Hollywood that lovingly recreates the era while rewriting the traumatic Manson episode.

The film is Tarantino’s most relaxed movie, a hangout buddy picture about two mid-level entertainment workers in 1969 Los Angeles. It overflows with love for movies, TV, and period details while centering the friendship between Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth.

Tarantino’s most heartfelt and emotionally mature work since Jackie Brown.

The film is a seductive, ramshackle '60s pastiche and pipe dream that celebrates recreating and rewriting the past, with strong performances from DiCaprio and Pitt and a brilliant, euphoric climax.

The critic calls it a brilliant, borderline masterpiece and Tarantino’s best since Jackie Brown. They single out the hangout-movie vibe, stellar performances (especially DiCaprio, Pitt and Robbie), and loving recreation of 1969 Hollywood for praise.

Tarantino has made a profound, silly, and sublime masterwork that imagines an alternate outcome for the Manson murders while evoking the societal changes of the late 1960s. The film is praised for its magnificent lead performances by DiCaprio and Pitt, stunning production design, and rich thematic exploration of Hollywood mythmaking.

The critic calls it Tarantino’s most personal and best film, a love letter to 1960s Los Angeles centered on friendship and loyalty between DiCaprio and Pitt’s characters. They single out the strong performances, especially from the leads, and the meticulous recreation of the era.

The critic calls it Tarantino’s most satisfying and well-rounded work in decades, with maturity, emotional investment, and thrilling set pieces. They single out the chemistry between Pitt and DiCaprio and the exhilarating final third for praise.

The critic describes the film as big, brash, ridiculous, too long, and ultimately invigorating, a playful homage to 1960s pop culture and Hollywood. They praise the chemistry between DiCaprio and Pitt and the film's contemplative take on a director's place in a changing industry.

The film is Tarantino's most fluid and luxuriously entertaining work in years, a gorgeously lacquered hangout movie full of nostalgia for 1960s LA and strong chemistry between DiCaprio and Pitt. It is ultimately disrupted in its final third by a berserk shift that breaks the woozy spell and introduces ideas of toxic masculinity and heroism.

The critic views the film primarily as a nostalgic, loose hangout bromance centered on the charming, offbeat chemistry between DiCaprio and Pitt as Rick and Cliff. It praises the detailed recreation of late-’60s LA and the revisionist fantasy elements but notes the film skirts tougher questions about violence against women and Hollywood history.

The review describes the film as a sprawling, indulgent ode to a Golden Age that is overlong and meandering yet lovingly crafted and brilliantly acted. It singles out the strong DiCaprio-Pitt chemistry and period detail for praise while noting the weaker Manson subplot and pacing issues as drawbacks.