Tarantino fell in love with a weak script here and unfortunately wasted a lot of time and talent that could have been spent elsewhere with a better story to tell.

As a director, he should think about challenging himself more. This isn't a challenge, it's an homage, recreation, retread, and while technically an achievement in terms of the time period re-creation (they did a fine job of envisioning 1969, and maybe it deserves an Oscar for art direction), the storytelling takes no risks and breaks no new ground. It's simply boring in too many parts, where I found myself asking why I should care?

Whether it's Tarantino-esque or not misses the point, it's simply not a "great" film because the script is lacking and it wouldn't matter who directed it. It drags. The narrative meanders. It's a simple film with ordinary characters. The weak script sucks the life out of it.

As for the Manson murder re-imagining, it's satisfying enough, though not quite as bombastic as I expected it to be.