Inglourious? Quite the opposite!

Rating: 9/10 (26 August 2009)

Basterds rates right up there with the top movies I've seen in the theatre this year. I'm not yet sure whether it outstrips Paper Heart, Away We Go, and Gamorrah, but it certainly comes close.
Tarantino's latest effort sees him return to the form and promise he showed in the early part of his career, a la Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Essentially a character study done in a 'I wonder what would have happened if' fantasy-esquire setting, Inglourious Basterds is replete with everything we've come to expect from QT: foul-mouthed witty dialogue, a broad brush color palette, and an incongruous time line.
I suppose if I had any complaints about IB they would be as follows. Firstly, I don't think we saw nearly enough of Donny 'The Bear Jew' Donnowitz (played by Eli Roth), as he really only features prominently in one or two scenes. Secondly, I left feeling like the role of Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melani Laurent) may have been miscast. Personally, I am of the mind that Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose) could have done a greater turn in her role. Though Laurent turns in a fine performance, for whatever reason I just wasn't buying her as the latent seductress.
That being said, in terms of performances, Tarantino seems to draw the best out of Brad Pitt, whose portrayal of Lt. Aldo Raine could have turned into a hammy over the top caricature of itself in the hands of a lesser auteur. Further, I was particularly captivated by the performance of Til Schweiger as the caustic Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz. However, this could be the result of his scene stealing performances in Judas Kiss and SLC Punk! which won my admiration over a decade ago. Either way, he's fantastic. Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to mention Christopher Waltz as the diabolical Col. Hans Landa. Waltz shines as the perfect antithesis to all the efforts of the 'good guys.' His serpentine genius steals nearly every scene he's in, and he does so in three different languages no less.
At any rate, even though IB clocks in at around two and a half hours in length, it doesn't view that way. Tarantino, if you can't say anything else about him, is a master of pacing, and here he keeps the viewer entertained and immersed in every scene. Yet, somehow, he does so without resorting to cheap shoot 'em up, blow 'em up tactics simply to titillate. Don't misunderstand, there are several events which are grotesque enough to put you off your tea, but those scenes will only surprise the few with short enough memories to have forgotten Pulp Fiction's overdose sequence.
To sum up, while the premise of WWII Allied command unleashing a small, Jewish commando force of avenging angels behind German lines may seem far fetched to pedantic history buffs, just remind yourself that it's Quentin Tarantino. The only question is, who DOESN'T want to drink the Kool-Aide?