Another let down from the once great QT.

Rating: 4/10 (17 August 2009)

So Quentin brings his unique directorial style to a film set in World War II and in doing so presents us with 'Allo 'Allo on crack, which I hasten to add is not a good thing. Once again told in chapters he impishly teases the audience by playing with the narrative, using quirky music and on screen graphics. Add in a couple of mates, a few stars and thank god one amazing performance and ladies and gentleman I give the 7th film by QT 'Inglourious Basterds'. Fortunately I wasn't expecting much from this film after his last three lacklustre attempts and so wasn't too disappointed when I finally saw it. The film they say is a 'return to form' for the director, who hasn't delivered since the underrated 'Jackie Brown' (in my opinion), but don't for one minute expect a return to past glories because this film has no idea what it's supposed to be. Part comedy, part drama, a distinct lack of action and overacting (in a film where he has spent so much time on getting Germans to speak French and vice versa with such attention to detail does he then get Mike Myers to play a caricatured British General?) cloud the plot which expects us to believe all sorts of preposterous aspects just because 'we are in the world of Tarantino'. It's crass, brash and at least an hour too long, but here's the crux everyone's cop out excuse is 'well that's what Tarantino does' to which my reply would be 'you are right of course but that's what he's being doing for 17 years, its wearing a little thin to see someone with obvious talent just treading water'. How many more slow motion walks with a funky bit of music do we need? How many more Samuel L Jackson voice overs? QT is like a child he just can't seem to grow up. There are however highlights (which is why I earlier referred to his obvious talent) Christopher Waltz as Col. Hans 'Jew Hunter' Landa stole the whole film for me and is one of the more comedic elements, there are still little touches of greatness in the camera work and audacious ideas, but for me its not enough. Brad 'Popeye' Pitt's performance is perhaps one of his worst and the dialogue at times goes on and on and without the ability to litter it with pop culture references just comes across as boring, there is even a scene he has stolen from one of his own earlier films. So ten years in gestation this vanity project feels like another up yours to Hollywood, on the one hand a geek trying to prove his knowledge by scattering references to early French and German cinema among the plot (the last few chapters centre around an art house cinema) and on the other a once infant terrible throwing his toys out of the pram because his last few films weren't as critically acclaimed, which is all well and good if you can back it up with the product. In the film Pitt's character cuts a swastika into the forehead of each Nazi he lets live, a permanent reminder of their crimes, on carving his last one he declares 'that may just be my masterpiece'. In fact it's just another swastika on another forehead and sadly this is just another Quentin Tarantino film in your local cinema.