Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino has done it again.
At least that's what many have been saying.

Tarantino is known for his edgy, gloriously gory revenge fantasies, and his latest work, Inglourious Basterds, delivers on all accounts.

What it doesn't deliver however, is a great film, and for someone who's a big Tarantino fan, this is extremely disappointing.

Christoph Waltz is uncanny. He absolutely steals the entire film with his take on the brilliant and chillingly sinister Col. Hans Landa. Melanie Laurent (Shosanna) and Diane Kruger (Bridget) are both awesome and believable. And we don't see nearly enough of the amazing Til Schweiger as the brooding Sgt. Hugo Stiglits.
However, Eli Roth should never have been cast in this film, the talented Mike Myers was wasted entirely, and Brad Pitt, though I didn't mind his acting, sounded like he'd stepped out of a Three Stooges film.

It's like Tarantino couldn't quite figure out what he wanted to do. Like he had three different films he wanted to make, couldn't decide which one to focus on, so threw them all together.

Having said that, the biggest beef lay with the platform he chose.

Who was he making this film for?
Does he expect his audience and cheer at the slaughter of the Nazis?
Wouldn't that parallel them to the nauseating Nazi audience watching the “hero's” film?

Tarantino missed the mark this time around. His films are generally enjoyable for what they are, and yes, it's a well written revenge fantasy, but this one blended in a very real piece of history that doesn't work at all with his genre of film.
It was presumptuous and sad. And at 2hrs and 33 minutes, much much too long.

moot or hooey?
Christoph Waltz won best actor at Cannes, and is short listed for an Academy Award.