I caught it yesterday, I will reserve judgement for part ii, but my early impressions were pretty favorable.

i mean, this isnt a movie with any underlying message, its pure entertainment but at least it doesnt disguise itself like the Patriot and other such trash.

Tarantino, though his subject matter is considerably more narrow than say Stanley Kubrick, is rightfully distinguished in a similar way. He in unquestionably the auteur of his flicks, you know a QT jawn from any other. Though he is not without influence (he takes a lot of shots and ideas from other pics for sure) he is definitely the imitatee, not that imitator.

I was definitely intrigued enough to see the second part (they kind of shaft you into it if you're remotely curious) and I think most people will be, we'll see how it winds up since the two parts were written as one screenplay