Tarantino's take on a war film.

Rating: 9/10 (16 September 2019)

This is Tarantino's take on a war film, mixing his style that he has perfected and used throughout his career and it works perfectly well here. The amount of detail that he adds to this movie is splendid and I really liked how much he focuses more on the dramatic side than the action. You still have your over the top violence, in which I enjoy watching, but it worked well here and it never went overboard. What does happen may surprise some people as Tarantino does something that does deviate itself from reality and enters his fantasy. Thanks to his craft, there are also several scenes here that really increases the tension and had me on the edge of my seat thinking what will happen. Because anything can happen at any minute, he expects us to expect the unexpected and when something does happen, you'll end up being surprised with the outcome and maybe get a laugh out of it, as I tend to laugh with the wildness and surprise of what occurs.
One thing that does have to be said though is that this is Tarantino's world, so it's best not to expect this film to follow history to a tee. Just like in "Kill Bill," he tells the story in chapters and he implements these characters together as we get to know who they are, along with seeing them intertwine with each other for the climax. With great pacing and pure entertainment sprinkled throughout the film, fans will be able to enjoy it and be invested in the plot. However, I do have to say that the subplot involving Shosanna was a little weak. Her character is interesting and I am invested in her plan. However, even though the performances were great here, I felt that Frederick Zoller, portrayed by Daniel Bruhl, was fairly uninteresting. His character was a little too oblivious to how Shosanna feels, which made him a bit obnoxious and didn't have anything to do until the climax. Felt more like he was needed for the plot to happen and was not really a memorable character compared to everyone else. You do understand the pain that he feels, but other than that, he felt like the weakest character out of everyone.
I liked that Tarantino went for more of a foreign approach here with the majority of the film being dialogue not spoken in English. As the film has characters involved in foreign lands, it's a pretty risky but smart move to have these characters speak in their native tongue rather than going for the safe route of having them speak English. Most of the cast was not well known to regular moviegoers at the time and they had the most time on the screen. It even went so far to the point of having someone like Brad Pitt not playing a major role and being pushed to the side line until the third act of the film. Not having your top billing actor throughout the movie is a bold decision, but it is also a very nice decision as all of the performances were great and it allows us to see more great actors who we can look forward to seeing. Everyone did a great job, but most of all, Christoph Waltz. His character was very unpredictable and was so fun to see every time he was on screen. When he appears, he steals the show and you know that something is bound to happen with him appearing on the scene. His presence alone adds the tension and unpredictability on what will occur.
There are a few scenes that do feel out of place, such as having a blacksploitation logo pop out of nowhere to introduce a character, along with having some of the minor characters in Aldo's squad being put to the sidelines, not having any major to do throughout the movie; even to the point of disappearing without explanation. Some of these can be nitpicks and I do admit that. But in the end, this film is still fun to watch and is another great film by Tarantino.