Very, very good, with Tarantino's one weakness ever-present

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2010)

I went to see this movie not really knowing what to expect. I'm not a real fan of war movies, but I do think that Tarantino is one of the great modern directors, albeit with a patchy record at times (I didn't think much of Kill Bill part 2, while I loved part 1).
The opening scene of this movie is masterful, switching easily between French and English - not to show off the linguistic prowess of the actors (very impressive though it is); it is part of the script. It also introduces us to the performance of Christoph Waltz, about which the hype is entirely justified. He is nothing short of incredible in this role, never puts a foot wrong and deserves every accolade he gets. The only act which will stop him from winning the Oscar will be an actor in the same category sleeping with a member of the academy. It could be said that Waltz is almost TOO good in that he overshadows performances which would otherwise themselves be heaped with high praise. He owns every scene he is in and towards the end of the movie, in a scene with Brad Pitt, he makes a so-called heavyweight like Pitt (who is far from bad in this) seem like a quasi-amateur. He is that good.
The direction is of course excellent; despite the lengthy dialogues and conversations, the movie rarely lags for its considerable duration. The violence is, well, it's what you would expect from Tarantino. Not much to say on that score. The dialogue itself is great, and carried off in three languages (plus the odd bit of Italian, which is hilarious when you hear Pitt's character try to speak it).
The "one weakness" I referred to above is something that I've always found in Tarantino's movies. While he creates great characters and gives them great dialogue, I have never been able to really empathize or sympathize with them. They don't seem very "human". It might just be me, though. Even when Shosanna is killed, it didn't really register as sad or anything. Again, this might be me, but I've not had this problem with other directors.
That aside, Inglorious Bastards is recommended thoroughly. Waltz is not to be missed and the whole thing is greatly entertaining.