Tarantino's Latest Cult Classic Proves Nothing is Sacred

Rating: 9/10 (4 July 2011)

I don't think this can be properly appreciated without knowing how it ends. Personally, I left the theater disappointed after my first viewing - like I'd been the butt of an enormous joke, with QuentinTarantino taking full advantage of the kind of notoriety and clout he'd accumulated over the years to cash in on an intentional stink bomb. Now, a few years removed from the experience, I've given it another shot and left with an entirely different look on my face. It's a magnificent film, dedicated to building up one impossible situation after the next; two full hours dedicated to stacking the dynamite. The implication, of course, is that he'll find a way to write himself out of it - and I suppose he does, just not in a way that anyone could have expected. It's an impervious blend of Tarantino's notoriously sharp-witted dialog, his ADD-influenced lack of focus on any particular storyline for more than twenty minutes, and a deep yearning to lead his audience into a false sense of security before dumping cold water over their heads. Brad Pitt has the time of his life as the braggish, stereotypical war movie lead with an awful accent, but Christoph Waltz steals the show as a giddy turncoat Nazi sleuth. Basterds is a stroke of brilliance, weaving three distinctly different movies into one spectacular cinematic quilt. Where my initial impressions of the "did they just do that" climax were of shock and disdain, time and honest thought have transformed it into one of my favorite scenes. Ballsy, bright and bombastic, it deserves a spot alongside the director's classics.