tragically bad. very poor choice of German actors doesn't help either

Rating: 3/10 (25 September 2010)

I can only agree with the reviewers on the unstructured, badly paced patch work nature of this movie, and on the sad fact that the best scene is the first scene.
I can only assume, people who believe the "bar" scene is "witty" don't understand the German language. A native speaker should notice immediately, how bad the actors really are and how forced and unpleasant the "Tarantino table debate pattern" aches on the viewers perception.
What works in contemporary New York style short story dialogues does absolutely not apply to German ww2 era characters. Tarantino obviously tried to make it "authentic" by omitting all the vulgar street lingo, but thus fails cos whats left is just clumsy and cumbersome.
Another thing nobody mentioned (AFAIK), is the fact that Tarantinos casting agent selected only the worst of the German actors available to fill his "native speaker" roles.(I am from Austria, so I have the dubious advantage of being pestered with all of those actors for decades now). And no, those actors are not suitable for "the trashy approach", they're just plain tiresome. it's as if a french movie maker wants to shoot an "authentic rapper" scene in New York and then hires the first actor that springs to mind. because he can't be bothered : "well, Denzel Washington is black, American and famous, no? That should suffice".

Mr. Waltz has been playing the same role for 15 years of cheesy TV movie productions, so there's no "outstanding character play" here; he just plain can't do anything else but play the slimy psychopath.

Til Schweiger is Germanies Ben Affleck. no further comment needed.

Gedeon Burkhardt is only known as "Komissar Rex" - the lamest "a cop and his dog" TV production the world has ever birthed.

That Diane Krueger has been promoting the stereotype of the boring, dull and flat German wood puppet with her outstanding "acting skills" doesn't help either.

I believe I "get" what Tarantino is after with this movie, and I think its a wonderful concept - however, sadly it fails. hard.