Inglourious Basterds Not So Glorious

Rating: 3/10 (30 January 2010)

Guess what ladies and gentlemen? Quentin Tarantino's rendition of 'Inglorious Basterds' is not that original. It is original in its storyline. But in terms of general creativity, it is hardly original. Hmmmm surprise, surprise. This is one more movie in the seemingly endless tidal wave of remakes and sequels currently polluting theaters and home DVD players. This is not to say that the movie was bad. Its storyline is a far cry from the story in the original. But when it comes to levels of violence and general camera work, this is largely more of the same from Tarantino, therefore setting it far apart from the original. What's more, while the general storyline makes for an interesting watch, the story feels as though it is dragging nonstop from beginning to end.
The story of the original 'Inglorious Basterds' involved the Dirty Dozen-esquire group of rogue soldiers trying to stop the Nazis, while trying to keep themselves from getting in any trouble from their own people. This time around, though, Tarantino has made an entirely fictitious story of said soldiers taking part in a plan to assassinate some of the Nazi party's elite at a theater. Unbeknownst to said soldiers, a young French Jew has her own plan to kill the Nazi's, too. Along the way, there is plenty of violence, and foul language, killing, and a very unnecessary short sex scene.
The sex, violence, and language aside, one of the positives of the movie is Tarantino's ability to make some very interesting camera angles. He does things with the camera that few other directors would dare do. The angles, in their own way, help to tell the story. They set mood by themselves, and by giving a better view of the scenes (and the characters).
While the camera angles and shots may help to tell the story, Tarantino and company fail to tell the story in a timely fashion. The separation of the story into chapters makes for wonderful transitions. But perhaps certain things could have been left out of some scenes to help push the story along. It felt as if so much of the story was just extraneous material that could have been cut. But then again, that is much the style that Tarantino has in his work.
'Inglorious Basterds' may not be the most original movie in the annals of war movies. But for all of the negatives that this movie may have, it is still somewhat uncharted territory for Quentin Tarantino. He is not typically known for doing war movies. And for this, it is a movie that will likely stand out among that mass of war movies created since the dawn of the silver screen.