Great, Fun Movie

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 2010)

I went to see Inglorious Basterds with several friends, and I was the only one out of all of them who like this movie. Why? I had no idea. They all said they hated it. After another recent viewing of this movie, I think I know why they hated it. It was advertised as a balls-to-the-wall action-comedy flick, which it is not. It has moments of action and moments of comedy, sure, but that wasn't the main focus of the movie. It was more about character development and building tension, so I think my friends believe that they didn't get what they were hoping for, which is understandable.
The way I see it, it was a truly excellent movie, albeit with a couple small flaws.
Let's start with the flaws: A couple scenes drag on for a very long time. Like, really long. The payoff for these long sequences is always good, but not quite worth the wait it took to get there. It just feels like some things could've been left on the cutting board. This leads me to my next negative point, which is simply that the movie is too long. However, the movie is good enough that it won't bore you so that you're just checking your watch every few minutes waiting for it to end, but it still is a little overly long. I think 5-10 minutes probably could've been cut out. One more negative point is that the movie is sort of random. This isn't always a bad thing, but there are some things that are introduced and never brought back again. For example: the origin of one of the basterds is told in a short little scene with funk music and a voice narrating this characters background. This is a fun little scene, but nothing like that ever happens again for the rest of the movie. May I ask why?
Now on to the positive points: Every actor does a great job, but the crowning jewel that shines above them all is Christopher Waltz as Col. Hans Landa. This guy is incredible. It's hard for me to even describe how great this guy is. It's a funny, but also very intimidating character and Waltz pulls it off perfectly (he deserved his best supporting actor Oscar 100%).
Another great point is the story. A runaway Jew that has started a new life owning a cinema is chosen to host the premiere of Nation's Pride, a Nazi propaganda movie. The basterds also eventually get involved in this event, which is where the story of the cinema owner and the basterds finally connect. If I reveal more than that, I'll probably spoil it for you, but let me just say that the climax is simply awesome.
The way the story is laid out is great, too. The two stories (the cinema owner and the basterds) being in the same movie isn't as confusing as you may think, and the movie is great at building tension until you're sweating while you wait for something to happen (even upon repeated viewings).
Before I finish this review, I should tell you that the movie doesn't have everyone speaking English no matter where they're from, so be prepared for a lot of subtitles (and I mean A LOT). Just make sure you're up for a little reading.
All in all, this a great and thoroughly enjoyable movie that I would recommend to anyone, except the illiterate.