Ahh, Quentin Tarantino. Every film the man makes is his signature love note to all things cinema. Known for his fun crowd-pleasers, dark humor, over-the-top violence and ridiculous situations, he almost never seems to disappoint.
With a reinvented World War II B-movie/noir-esque presentation, does he still retain the same pizazz he has in the past? Or does he finally fall flat beneath the heaps of more entertaining cinema in the market today?
Quite the Glorious bastard Quentin is with his newly original "Inglourious Basterds."
Inglourious tells the initially unrelated but interwoven tales of revenge of Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and his troop of ravenous, vengeful misfits as well as the innocent victim of Nazi war Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent). After Shoshanna tries to hide from Nazi "Jew-Hunter" Hans Landa (Cristoph Waltz), he realizes of their hiding place and kills off her family, accidentally letting her go and run away. Years later, she is seen owning her own movie theater, unwittingly being pitted directly into the heart of the Nazi body when a German soldier garners an extreme attraction to her. Lt. Aldo Raine, on the other hand, is simply out to to "do one thing and one thing only...killin' Nazis." He, along with his Jewish-American covert squad of Nazi haters, formulate a plot to assassinate Hitler along with the Nazi hierarchy.
At its most basic, Inglourious is a simple yet fun roller coaster ride of revenge and blood-splattering hilarity. When examined on a deeper scale, though, it has its more creative and nuanced merit (similar to the stupid-fun style Kill Bill has on its surface, but its much more emotionally-rooted story and style found after appreciating it for more than its skin-deep beauty). Inglourious keeps all the Tarantino-isms: darkly comical situations, extremely heightened tension, long yet interesting dialogue, and artistically refined depictions of violence. Its all here...but even if you hated Tarantino's style before, Inglourious still deserves a chance if only for its last 30 minutes of utter brilliant filmmaking.
Within the film are several interesting cameos including Julie Dreyfus (Kill Bill), Mike Myers (Austin Powers), Eli Roth (director of Hostel), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) and B.J. Novak (The Office), which propel the film into somewhat of an ensemble surprise cast. But the actual starring cast is what makes Inglourious even better than what it already is, specifically the performances of the lovable Brad Pitt, the intriguing Melanie Laurent, and especially the powerhouse performance of Christoph Waltz. It seems as if each of the characters (Aldo Raine, Shoshanna Dreyfus, and Hans Landa, respectively) were written specifically for each actor, as I couldn't perceive anyone else playing them successfully. Also notable is the fine talent of Diane Kruger as Bridget von Hammersmark, the seductive and famed actress who is a critical piece of the German resistance puzzle.
In the sense of story, its all played out masterfully, with certain characters knowing certain things for certain reasons and others not knowing said things for certain reasons. When you're not being treated to an enjoyable conversation or silly B-movie fare that Tarantino is known for exploiting, your blood pressure runs high on an indescribably tense scene that ultimately leads to a surprising, if not at least sensory shattering, climax. This is done both in the writing, which would make for an equally excellent novel, as well as the technical and physical execution of the directing and acting.
While Inglourious may not be for everyone's taste, Tarantino has once again proved that he has the talent and genius to produce such fine films. The pacing may be a little off, and the marketing for the film shines it in a light of nonstop action and ridiculousness. This may not be exactly what you get, because there do exist quite a number of long conversational scenes and drawn-out build-ups to any given climax. But, that's just the way Tarantino does his thing and its not a big problem to me. In fact, I would place this WWII exploitation dramedy up with the ranks of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. He always places so many subtle tidbits of fun (like having the film within the film "Nation's Pride" directed by Eli Roth or having the allusion to the title on Raine's rifle) that just make the movie cake that much more delicious.
In simple conclusion, Inglourious Basterds is probably the best film the Summer's mainstream box office has to offer and an irrefutably bombastic end to the Summer as a whole. Tarantino is the one-man Pixar; offering up an enjoyable dish whenever he can and making it last till his next, undoubtedly brilliant offering. Remembering that Tarantino has a peculiar yet artistic style and flare, go forth and enjoy Inglourious Basterds for all its glorious perfections (and also, rally to give Waltz some kind of large-scale acting award for his mesmerizing performance).
9.5/10
Kyle Shelton
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