REVIEW: Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Inglourious Basterds
Rated: R
Runtime: 152 minutes
Starring: Brad Pitt, Christopher Waltz
My rating: 4 stars
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Once it gets past the necessary setup, albeit an hour-long setup, Inglourious Basterds finally becomes quintessential Quentin.
But that first hour is rough.
For starters, it’s almost all in German, meaning the audience has to endure subtitles, which is never good considering there is so much happening in each scene that reading hinders the audience’s ability to recognize the hidden gems in Tarantino’s direction.
Once that plot is established and everyone knows what’s going on, it’s a fun ride.
Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) leads an underground group of Jewish-American soldiers who systematically take down Nazis and spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping the ones they kill. Their ultimate mission is to kill Hitler, German war hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl), “Jew Hunter” Col. Hans Landa (Christopher Waltz) and a propaganda filmmaker.
Meanwhile a defected Jew (Melanie Laurent) now owning a Cinema and living in France is planning her own attack on the Nazis.
Of course there are twists and turns that make this film rank among Tarantino’s best – better than Kill Bill Vol. 1, but not as lasting as Pulp Fiction.
And it is in no way an accurate portrayal of history. That’s the fun of it. We get to see how Tarantino envisioned a master plot to end WWII.
There are the typical Tarantino stick-‘em-up scenes with guns drawn under tables, lots of quick dialog and witty remarks from everyone involved. There are the all-hell-breaks-loose moments with an Armageddon-like feel. It’s what we’ve come to expect.
The issues come with this film’s perceived insensitivity when dealing with a highly emotional topic. I didn’t feel that way because I think it makes the audience aware early that it’s not supposed to be anything serious or an actual portrayal, therefore we shouldn’t be offended that Tarantino is defaming or bastardizing the war.
We should treat it as a movie where writer-director Tarantino explores the war in a way only he can. The thing about Tarantino is that no matter what movie he makes or how he makes it, people talk, and people will talk about this. He’s already a proven master, but Inglorious Basterds is his attempt at telling us so.
His only flaw is with the ungodly long build up and character introductions. Everyone in the audience knows what a Nazi is and how they acted as a socialist party. We don’t need to hear them talk about it for an hour.
Tarantino’s brilliance comes with how perfectly he always ties every storyline together. Fans of him know that he’ll bring the runaway Jew, the Basterds and the Nazis all together in spectacular fashion. He doesn’t disappoint, and that’s where Inglourious Basterds is really something to behold.
The last hour is, by far, Tarantino’s best work. It’s just unfortunate the first half of the film didn’t quite live up. 4 stars.
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Where it's playing:
Canton/PotsdamSHOWTIMES
Watertown SHOWTIMES
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