Not QT's best, but far from his worst

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2016)

Quentin Tarantino is easily my favorite director of all time and I love every single one of his films. That's not because I'm some blind fanboy who would love anything he puts his name on, it's simply because every single one of his films are so expertly crafted and written that it's really hard to say that anything he has done is "bad". Inglorious Basterds has received many mixed reviews and can easily be described as a "love it or hate it" type film. While it is quite flawed in some areas, I enjoy Inglorious Basterds for what it is, which is a fun, Nazi- killing fest oozing with Tarantino's signature style and trademarks. And before you even read the rest it's quicker to say, if you don't like Tarantino, you won't like Inglorious.
Now when I say Inglorious Basterds starts out strong, it starts out STRONG. The opening scene of Inglorious Basterds is easily one of the best opening scenes of all time and is certainly one of Tarantino's best scenes ever. In the first 10 minutes alone, Christoph Waltz managed to create an immensely daunting character with the help of impeccable acting and an excellent script, which is what we have come to expect from Tarantino. Christoph Waltz's performance as Col. Hans Landa is easily the best part of the entire film. He manages to be such an intimating and despicable man while still remaining completely likable. Sadly, the rest of the cast's performances couldn't quite keep up as the roles from talented and experienced actors, such as Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender, fall short to the quality of acting we would expect from a Tarantino film. Bradd Pitt seems almost purposely wooden and lifeless. The same can be said for Fassbender's character as well. These mediocre performances don't bring down Waltz's Oscar worthy portrayal, but they are especially heartless in comparison.
The thing that many people disliked about Inglorious Basterds is the lack of suspense and thrilling sequences. While I can admit that it certainly isn't as action packed as some of QT's other works, there is no shortage of tension within the long sequences of dialogue-driven narration. These sequences take up the majority of screen time, and a lot of it isn't even in English, but it still manages to build tension through expertly crafted dialogue and a meticulous attention to detail. Excellent dialogue is yet another thing we have come to expect from Tarantino, but here it is showcased more than ever as some of these conversations between characters can last up to 20 minutes for one scene. While this seems like it would be ridiculously boring and tedious, I was quite surprised at how fast and fluid these scenes felt despite the length. The script and screenplay here is incredible.
One of the problems I had with Inglorious Basterds is how it's sometimes offensively stupid and treats the audience like we don't know better. My love for Tarantino aside, I couldn't help but feel that I was being pandered to as the story was sometimes so ludicrously stupid and nonsensical, to a point where it is almost insulting. We are exposed to incredibly graphic violence, yet we are being spoon-fed nonsense that is borderline ignorant.
Inglorious Basterds is definitely not QT's best but it is still far from his worst. While it certainly would've benefited from a smarter story and better performances from some of the cast, the fun nature and over- the-top extreme violence made Inglorious Basterds a blast to watch. It doesn't have nearly as much soul as Django Unchained, but it still holds up as a solid Tarantino film. It's ultra-violence and long dialogue- driven sequences make Inglorious Basterds an unfriendly introduction to Tarantino's world for newcomers. Instead, we fans are given a raunchy love letter from Tarantino himself as he delivers exactly what we should expect from this inspirational and endlessly talented figure of modern cinema.