It’s a real shame thatQuentin Tarantinois no longer planning to makeThe Movie Critic.After a change of heart, he opted to cancel the project.Sadly, canceling the feature marks another Hollywood project that fell through, and it aligns with the director’s self-imposed 10-film rule. Tarantino stated he would make a total of 10 works before retiring as a director, ensuring the best quality and integrity in his art. Speaking with thePure Cinema Podcast, he explained, “Most directors have horrible last movies. Usually their worst movies are their last movies.” While admirable in theory, this philosophy carries a burden of perfection that may cost cinema one of its most distinctive voices.
Although Tarantino’s 10-movie rule stems from good intentions, it’s as if he’s afraid of history repeating itself regarding other directors' final hurrahs. He continued, “That’s the case for most of the Golden Age directors that ended up making their last movies in the late ’60s and the ’70s, then that ended up being the case for most of the New Hollywood directors who made their last movies in the late ’80s and the ’90s.” Has he canceledThe Movie Criticfor all the wrong reasons?
Tarantino Wants To End on a High Note
Wanting to go out on a high note makes sense: he aims to leave audiences wanting more, rather than regretting that he stopped too soon. However, it seems incredibly restrictive.The Movie Criticwould have been a ‘spiritual sequel’ to the genius ofOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood, taking place in the same world and town. There was a tantalizing rumor thatBrad Pitt’s iconic Cliff Boothwould feature in the movie, which turned out to be false. The situation becomes more complex withDavid Fincher now directingThe Adventures of Cliff Booth, a Netflix sequel toOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodthat Tarantino wrote.However,he insists thatThe Movie Criticwouldn’t have gone down this same route.
Speaking on theChurch of Tarantinopodcast, Tarantino shared that he felt the film would turn out boring: “It was the preproduction that made me realize that I was so excited about the writing, but I wasn’t really that excited about dramatizing what I wrote.”
“I’m not paralyzed with fear. Trust me, I’m not paralyzed with fear. The thing aboutThe Movie Criticis I really, really like it. But there was a challenge that I gave to myself when I did it. Can I take the most boring profession in the world and make it an interesting movie?
Every Tarantino title promises so much, exceptThe Movie Critic. Who wants to see a TV show about a f-ing movie critic? Who wants to see a movie calledThe Movie Critic? If I can actually make a movie or a TV show about somebody who watches movies interesting, that is an accomplishment.”
But if anyone could have made it good, he could.This standard, where his final film must be five stars, bears so much weight, possibly encouraging creative paralysis rather than creative freedom, limiting a complete and true artistic journey.
Tarantino Has a Back Catalog Like No Other
Tarantino considersKill Bill: Volume 1(2003) andVolume 2(2004)to be a single film, and so counts his output at nine films, despite there having been 10 theatrically released movies. Acknowledging that those who think the works are two films are “technically correct” because they both include credits, he toldReelBlend, “But since Imadeit as one movie, and I wrote it as one movie, that’s just some chicanery that I did in editing.”
His complete directorial works include:Reservoir Dogs(1992),Pulp Fiction(1994),Jackie Brown(1997),Kill Bill: Volume 1(2003),Kill Bill: Volume 2(2004),Death Proof(2007),Inglourious Basterds(2009),Django Unchained(2012),The Hateful Eight(2015), andOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood(2019), so the standard is already remarkably high. Each film shows different aspects of his vast storytelling mind, from the tight ensemble piece ofReservoir Dogsto the sprawling revisionist Western ofDjango Unchained.
The director never feels stale, continually reinventing his style and bringing something fresh to each release.Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodshowed a more contemplative Tarantino— one willing to let scenes breathe and characters exist in their environment. It suggests a director still evolving, rather than one who has reached their creative ceiling. So another film about our favorite subject, movies, would seem anything but boring.
Tarantino Is a Director That Will Go Down in History
Commitment to retiring after 10 films has always been about the director maintaining artistic integrity rather than becoming a filmmaker who overstays his welcome. ShelvingThe Movie Critic, which would have been his 10th and final film, suggests he felt it wasn’t the right capstone to his career. This decision reflects his perfectionist approach and understanding of his creative process.
Whether fans agree with his 10-movie rule or not, Tarantino has consistently prioritized quality over quantity throughout his career. His willingness to abandon a project that didn’t meet his standards, even as his intended finale, holds the same uncompromising vision that made his previous films what they are: works that will live on in Hollywood’s hall of fame. Though his reasoning and filmmaking philosophy may frustrate some, it is perhaps best to give Tarantino the benefit of the doubt in this case.
