a bit unsure of what it wants to be, but in the end you can't help enjoying this ridiculous hybrid of a movie

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2010)

It's a totally unhinged fantasy on the events of World War II, a provocative film that uses the serious theme of war to tell the story by means of exploitation cinema to the point that I can imagine some people really insulted by it. "Inglorious Basterds" isn't a one-sided affair though as it can't be classified as a pure action B-movie. It's a more complicated flick than that blending ideological cinema with a suspenseful thriller mostly relying on the clever dialogue. There are moments in the movie when these overall three different aspects don't gel together very well. Largely inconsistent tone of the movie is more than redeemed by gripping, cringe-inducing sequences often involving Christoph Waltz in a star-making turn as contradiction-driven Col. Hans Landa. He even steals the show from supremely over-the-top Brad Pitt. It's a shame that masterly executed single scenes don't result in an equally superb movie. "Inglorious Basterds" is a bit unsure of what it wants to be, but in the end you can't help enjoying this ridiculous hybrid of a movie.