Loved them or hated them - you won't soon forget the Basterds

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 2009)

The funniest thing about this film is the strong reactions it gets out of viewers. Reading the comments on this site you can see – it really is either a 'love or hate' movie. I don't think anyone walked out of the cinema with nothing to say about it. Think about it, you may have hated the film, but you definitely talked about it afterward. Tarantino is interesting because his films have none of the blandness that often comes out of Hollywood lately.
As you can see, I was one of the people who loved the film. I gave it 10 stars because the first words I said leaving the cinema were 'I could not have enjoyed that movie more'. I liked it because of the structure – broken into individual chapters which, again and again, introduced fascinating characters and used interesting, smart dialog to build tension, until you are really on the edge of your seat. Then, violence is often used to end the scene and relieve the tension. It is so far from the normal narrative arch of most movies these days. It's like when a song differs from the 'verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus' structure – unexpected and refreshing.
Some say the film was dialog heavy and too long – but if you just get lost in the story, and enjoy the pace that Tarantino sets, it is hard to be bored. Again, Tarantino doesn't conform to the fast-paced, objective driven feel of the average Hollywood flick, and Basterds is all the better for it. The dialog is not a case of 'how can we get the point across in thirty seconds?', it is the point. It is as much 'part of the ride' as any of the action sequences. The melting pot of subtle and not-so-subtle film and cultural references in the film is another reason I want to watch it again, and I've already gone twice! My advice is to live in the moment, enjoy the stunning cinematography, vivid color and a cast of characters you can really sink your teeth into.
Speaking of characters, I find it hard to agree with anyone who calls the characters of this film one-dimensional or uninteresting. Just look at Christoph Waltz's Hans Landa, the next great villain of our generation, a deeply complex character who can be both charming and deeply disturbing. He can translate his threatening presence even in polite conversation over strudel and a glass of milk! It is a role which has projected Waltz into world fame, and with very good reason. Another great example of Tarantino's outstanding characters is Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine, whose over-the-top accent and larger-than-life presence were bold and risky choices. It could have gone horribly wrong, and yet this gamble paid off. I went along for the ride with that crazy Basterd, 100% of the way. The way Tarantino presents women in the film was another reason I loved it – this is not a male-dominated bloodbath as the trailer suggested – one of the main story lines follows a young Jewish woman's quest for revenge.
Like I said, Inglourious Basterds is often loved or hated. And, as the average rating reveals, thankfully the lovers have outweighed the haters, at least here on IMDb. While you may have despised the movie, you must agree that you thought about it and discussed it far beyond the cinema – which is more than you can say for the mediocre, contrived movies that often get as much popularity. Again, Tarantino refuses to conform to the expectations of modern cinema, and again he is rewarded for it.