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Review -- Inglourious Basterds
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Christoph Waltz, Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent
Canadian Rating: 14A
3 stars out of 4 (Good)
By Albert Tam
Not often will a filmmaker dare to rewrite history, but Tarantino doesn’t seem to care and neither do we because his new film Inglourious Basterds is just too much fun to dismiss.
The movie has been advertised heavily as a Brad Pitt vehicle but it really isn’t. Like Tarantino did in Pulp Fiction, the movie concerns three parallel stories that are equal in screen time and intertwined in the strangest of ways: the first telling of the notorious Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), known as the “Jew Hunter”, the second of the American Basterds who run around France scalping Nazis – that’s the one with Brad Pitt, and the third about a humble French Jewish woman named Shosanna Dreyfus in hiding (Melanie Laurent) who openly runs a movie theatre that will soon be overrun by the upper tier of German officers for a fascist movie premiere of their own – she wants to burn it to the ground for revenge. Over the 150 plus minutes of film there is violence, humour, great dialogue, and Tarantino’s self-indulgence which is kind of what we love, really.
I’m going to let it be known that I’m a big Tarantino fan and the Kill Bill series is my favourite repeated viewing while Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction are arguably his best works. Inglourious Basterds probably levels at the Kill Bill movies in quality, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are hints of greatness here, from the stunning opening interrogation sequence with Hans Landa to a Mexican stand-off in a basement tavern, but much of this movie gets muddled in dialogue that rolls off the tongue for these actors. It sure sounds nice, but it’s ultimately meaningless since it doesn’t add much to who they are.
What I admired so much about Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction specifically was Tarantino’s ability to use dialogue about AK-47s, foot massages and burgers and still have it mean something to these people, thus allowing us to understand them better. Inglourious Basterds, which has a lot of talking, only has one character that we really get to know and the rest are just wisecracking people with a purpose. Unlike his other movies, this film settles for a movie driven by events and not characters and while it still works, I left wanting a little more.
But beyond this, I strongly encourage a viewing because this is still a very entertaining picture that’s got Tarantino’s requisite flair. Like Kill Bill, it’s told in those sequential chapters, has some excellent monologues, and it’s nice to have a war film where characters can act to poppy David Bowie music.
Tarantino, also known for bringing out the best in his actors, does great work with Christoph Waltz (he took home a Best Actor awards at this year’s Cannes) who is nothing short of brilliant as the Nazi Jew Hunter that can interrogate and terrify at 4 different languages. He’s probably one of the best villains Tarantino has ever written and that’s because Hans Landa gets the best lines to work with: first there’s a charm, then a little humour, and before you know it, Landa already knows what his prisoner knows and we’re greeted with terrifying acts of violence. The other actors are excellent as well, particularly both Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger who are both gorgeous and cunning, and Brad Pitt’s accent here isn’t as bad as the trailers made it sound. These American Basterds aren’t so much the main characters of the story, just the comic relief really with their banter and tactics.
Like all movies Inglourious Basterds has its quibbles, but the merits overwhelm them and give us an entertaining experience nonetheless. This isn’t going to be Tarantino’s best, but I'm certain fans will get their bang for their buck. And maybe a Nazi scalp to go with it.
Note: This picture is very violent and the 14A rating is rather light for the level of gore on display here. I found it disturbing that some people laughed at the scenes of torture.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Christoph Waltz, Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent
Canadian Rating: 14A
3 stars out of 4 (Good)
By Albert Tam
Not often will a filmmaker dare to rewrite history, but Tarantino doesn’t seem to care and neither do we because his new film Inglourious Basterds is just too much fun to dismiss.
The movie has been advertised heavily as a Brad Pitt vehicle but it really isn’t. Like Tarantino did in Pulp Fiction, the movie concerns three parallel stories that are equal in screen time and intertwined in the strangest of ways: the first telling of the notorious Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), known as the “Jew Hunter”, the second of the American Basterds who run around France scalping Nazis – that’s the one with Brad Pitt, and the third about a humble French Jewish woman named Shosanna Dreyfus in hiding (Melanie Laurent) who openly runs a movie theatre that will soon be overrun by the upper tier of German officers for a fascist movie premiere of their own – she wants to burn it to the ground for revenge. Over the 150 plus minutes of film there is violence, humour, great dialogue, and Tarantino’s self-indulgence which is kind of what we love, really.
I’m going to let it be known that I’m a big Tarantino fan and the Kill Bill series is my favourite repeated viewing while Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction are arguably his best works. Inglourious Basterds probably levels at the Kill Bill movies in quality, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are hints of greatness here, from the stunning opening interrogation sequence with Hans Landa to a Mexican stand-off in a basement tavern, but much of this movie gets muddled in dialogue that rolls off the tongue for these actors. It sure sounds nice, but it’s ultimately meaningless since it doesn’t add much to who they are.
What I admired so much about Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction specifically was Tarantino’s ability to use dialogue about AK-47s, foot massages and burgers and still have it mean something to these people, thus allowing us to understand them better. Inglourious Basterds, which has a lot of talking, only has one character that we really get to know and the rest are just wisecracking people with a purpose. Unlike his other movies, this film settles for a movie driven by events and not characters and while it still works, I left wanting a little more.
But beyond this, I strongly encourage a viewing because this is still a very entertaining picture that’s got Tarantino’s requisite flair. Like Kill Bill, it’s told in those sequential chapters, has some excellent monologues, and it’s nice to have a war film where characters can act to poppy David Bowie music.
Tarantino, also known for bringing out the best in his actors, does great work with Christoph Waltz (he took home a Best Actor awards at this year’s Cannes) who is nothing short of brilliant as the Nazi Jew Hunter that can interrogate and terrify at 4 different languages. He’s probably one of the best villains Tarantino has ever written and that’s because Hans Landa gets the best lines to work with: first there’s a charm, then a little humour, and before you know it, Landa already knows what his prisoner knows and we’re greeted with terrifying acts of violence. The other actors are excellent as well, particularly both Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger who are both gorgeous and cunning, and Brad Pitt’s accent here isn’t as bad as the trailers made it sound. These American Basterds aren’t so much the main characters of the story, just the comic relief really with their banter and tactics.
Like all movies Inglourious Basterds has its quibbles, but the merits overwhelm them and give us an entertaining experience nonetheless. This isn’t going to be Tarantino’s best, but I'm certain fans will get their bang for their buck. And maybe a Nazi scalp to go with it.
Note: This picture is very violent and the 14A rating is rather light for the level of gore on display here. I found it disturbing that some people laughed at the scenes of torture.
...course, it doesn't hurt that every chapter seems to end with final flourish of violence.
Good review overall - 'case you didn't glance at the review I posted, I quite liked it too!
The script crackled with intensity; his dialogue is always perfect. The actors were stunning, especially Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent. The opening scene had me on the edge of my seat and the finale was, for lack of a more appropriate word, brilliant.
I agree that it's on par with his Kill Bill films. It's not the masterpiece that Pulp Fiction is but I'd tie it for second, alongside Kill Bill (which I actually prefer over Jackie Brown).
Inglourious Basterds had something his other films lacked; raw emotions. It's dark, deep subject matter, something he's never dealt with before, which made the characters all the more engaging because of their emotional development.
Still, agree all the way that this is a good film.
I agree that some character arcs were a lot smaller than his previous films. I remember being disappointed that we only got one flashback for one of the Basterds, as opposed to also doing one for a couple of others, like Aldo Raines or Donny.
there's more, but it's a pain to type.
I loved the movie