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Director: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Action/Comedy/Drama
Year: 2009

Quentin Tarantino what Quentin Tarantino does best, but somehow this film got blown up with hype and tossed into nominations for Best Film which I am not sure are deserved. While I did enjoy this film as I tend to enjoy most Tarantino films; while it is entertaining and fun to watch; while it has some pretty good cinematography and directing…it also seems to me that it was one of the most overrated films of the year.

The film is loosely based on the Italian film Inglorious Bastards (Quel maledetto treno blindato) by Enzo Castellari, a film about a troop of misfits and last-chance soldiers recruited on what is essentially a suicide mission (click here for my review of that film) in World War II as they get dropped behind enemy lines to create some serious, bad-ass chaos. Tarantino’s film is at heart essentially the same, but changes a number of details. This time around, instead of misfits making the crew, it is a number of Jewish soldiers and their mission has been simplified to kill as many Nazis as they can (100 scalps per soldier).

Two stories have been weaved together, that of the Inglorious Basterds in their mission and that of Shosanna Dreyfus, a young jewish girl whose family is brutally murdered by Nazi’s in the opening scene of the film. Managing to escape with her life, she goes on to settle down in a cinema which she eventually ends up running and which turns out to be the venue for one of Nazi propaganda’s films, giving her–and the Inglorious Basterds–the unique opportunity to not only take out high ranking Nazi’s, but Hitler himself.

Unfortunately, the division between the two stories is altogether too easily felt. Shosanna’s story is dramatic, powerful, interesting and extremely well handled, amounting for about ninety percent of the best acting in this film–Christoph Waltz as Colonel Landa is nothing short of fabulous and absolutely earned his Oscar–which holds the key to most of the plot here. The story of the Inglorious Basterds, who ironically lend their name to the title of this film, is by far the weakest and one might argue pointless. The acting falls through, severely poor on the part of some (Eli Roth) or overdone on the part of others (Brad Pitt). Their mission itself seems superfluous and redundant, given that everything they are working for is already being handled by Shosanna and her boyfriend Marcel at the cinema. Unless Shosanna failed terribly–which she didn’t–the story of the Inglorious Bastards is moot and one ends up watching a film where either the Inglorious Bastards succeed, or Shosanna succeeds, or both, which really cuts down on the thrill that should be carried by a movie of this caliber.

Most of the comedic moments are carried through in the Inglorious Basterds story, which only adds to the polarization of this film. Frankly stated, this film never decides if it wants to be taken seriously or simply be an act of delightful buffoonery, a display of brawn and a parade of gore. Fortunately, this film does indeed carry some memorable scenes that salvage it from being a complete waste of time. The opening scene regarding Shosanna is amazing; the bar scene regarding the more obscure members of the Inglorious Basterds, a spy and a Nazi officer, will have you on the edge of your seat; and the scene at the restaurant between Pvt. Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl; The Bourne Ultimatum, Joyeux Noël), Shosanna and Col. Landa is yet another and the dialogue is carried with the capabilities that Tarantino has deployed in many of his previous films. Unfortunately, it is not enough to cover the schizophrenic feel of this film, keeping it at a enjoyable level but in my opinion never lifting it above that.

The acting must be commended in the part of Christoph Waltz and Mélanie Laurent, who do a fantastic job with their roles and it is a shame that Waltz character is so mishandled in the end, contradicting everything he had been set up to be. Brad Pitt is a few notches over the top, but does a good enough job to provide a number of laughs, even if his character is about as important to the movie as the Inglorious Basterds as a group seem to be to the plot. The participants of the bar scene, and the farmer in the opening scene do quite a good job in their scenes as well, but their characters are so relegated to the sidelines that unfortunately their talent is not properly displayed.

This is not a bad film, but do not make the mistake of buying into the hype before watching this film or you will most likely be sorely disappointed. Watch it, enjoy it, have fun and leaving it at that, you should be fine. Bring with you the nonsense about best film of the year and you will end up with the sour taste in your mouth I now carry.

Rating:
Comments: Violent and over-the-top gory at times, this film is not family friendly. Language is all over the place too, as can be expected from a Tarantino film.
Quote: Shosanna Dreyfus: My name is Shosanna Dreyfus and THIS is the face… of Jewish vengeance!