Inglourious Basterds Review

Yes yes, it's that time again. Mr. Quentin Tarantino has bestowed another gem (in my eyes) on the cinema world. And oh is it a good one.

Inglourious Basterds is, as self-described by Tarantino, a "World War II Spaghetti Western." Not a bad description. It is, first and foremost, about a group of Jewish-American soldiers, nicknamed the "Basterds." They are a famous bunch, and they parade through Nazi Germany, doing what else, but killin' Nazis. The film also involves, rather heavily, a French woman named Shosanna Dreyfus, who witnessed her family's murder at the hands of the ruthless Colonel Hans Landa (the standout performance of the film). She plans to take revenge (a Tarantino must) by burning down her movie theater where a Nazi Propaganda film is being shown to many high-ranking Nazis, not the least of which is Adolf Hitler. However, the Basterds have also planned to attack the Nazis at this event, eventually calling this plan Operation Kino. The whole thing gets rolled into one and the payoff for this plan is tremendous.

Wow did I love this movie. You must be aware, however, that I am a huge Tarantino fan and that probably (well, definitely) plays into my love of the film, but I still think it's a very well-made and actual "good" movie. I'm actually going to get the faults out of the way first, of which I found few. There is a lot of dialogue, which of course is normal Tarantino, and he does tend to get slightly self-indulgent with it. He knows his movies, I'll give him that, but he tends to act like everyone else does, and some of the dialogue comes off as esoteric (look it up). About 75% of the references to films of that period, I was unfamiliar with, and I'd be willing to bet many people would have higher percentages. Second of all, the dialogue, in particular during the bar scene, can have a tendency to overstay its welcome. I enjoyed 95% of it, but that bar scene I felt could have been shortened. However, I do know there is a point in doing that, and I'll explain.

Another point to be made, and this is more of a caveat rather than a flaw, there is a LOT of German and French, with subtitles obviously, but still, the film is probably 60-40 German and French to English. I honestly don't mind this, and it really does not bother me in the slightest, but if you are expecting a full English movie and would have a problem otherwise, you will have a problem with this movie.

That being said, the dialogue and writing is some of the best Tarantino has done. As I said, there are many references that you will not understand, but the fact that they are there and well-placed within the time period of the film gives them a more satisfying feel. Sometimes Tarantino will write dialogue about random "oh that's so true" moments of life with no real point, but the dialogue in this film (for the most part) had a central theme, that being cinema during that time period. Of course he uses his stand-by's, like rules being set down, inserting side-comments in the middle of sentences, and very conversational style, but still I feel as though he has improved his writing even since Death Proof (probably one of his weaker films).

And this film, almost more than any other, really showed what a director Tarantino can be. He had me enthralled the whole time; that was the fastest two and a half hours since The Dark Knight (which actually felt longer than this film) because Tarantino directs the film as a whole and not just one aspect. How he gets the actors to act like they do, in ALL of his films but especially this one, is beyond me. He gets them to be so good, just always on point, characters but not characterizations. But he also directs the audience through brilliant cinematography, placing of dialogue and action sequences, it's just classic filmmaking at its best. As I said, he does indulge in the dialogue quite a bit, and some call it "pointless," but it's the pointlessness that has a point, per se. In this film, more than any other, he is lulling you into a sense of complacency and almost safety, because as soon as you start to think "where is this going" BOOM. He hits you with a gunshot, an assassination, or a major plot twist. And then you forget that he spent a half hour talking about film stars you've never heard of. It's just really smart, really effective, and really cool.

I also mentioned the brilliant acting, and some mention of the actors must be made. Brad Pitt is hilarious, smart, and scary all at the same time, and he's perfect every time he comes on screen. He's actually not on screen as much as the ads make him out to be, but his time is still felt and he's brilliant. The real stars of the show, in my mind, are Christopher Waltz as Col. Hans Landa and Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfuss. Christopher Waltz is amazing, and although he is a German actor, I'm surprised we haven't heard much from him before. His Col. Landa is flawless in every scene, at times theatrical and somewhat friendly and others ruthless, tense, and ultimately frightening. With the flick of a switch, it seems, he can go from friendly to menacing, and the scene changes dramatically when this happens. I also mentioned Melanie Laurent, who is both beautiful and amazing in her role as Shosanna. She is so believable, and her subtlety brings out her character even more, if that makes any sense. You have to see it to know what I mean.

And of course, the Tarantinoisms are abound. The film is split up into chapters, there are some foot fetish scenes, music used in Kill Bill is used once again (which of course I am very okay with), and the violence is brutal, more brutal than any of his other films. Tarantino fans can once again go crazy about them. I know I did.

This film is better than Jackie Brown and Death Proof, and is probably about as good as Reservoir Dogs, though does not match Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction (few films do). Again, it's a Tarantino film, so it may not be for everyone, but it is very well-made and shows that this type of filmmaking is still needed. Tarantino, I applaud you once again. I loved it.

Business is boomin'.

5/5