Fascinating epic by Tarantino

Rating: 9/10 (23 August 2009)

Inglourious Basterds is an alternate history World War II war epic. Unlike other war epics, it is completely fictional, using Nazi occupied France as a setting but hardly taking into account any other historical information. The film is stylistically similar to Quentin Tarantino's other films, such as Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bills. There is a lot of exaggerated violence, quirky characters, and dialog.
There are several scenes of extended dialog between characters. Sometimes I criticize this in Tarantino's other films, but it works very well here to introduce the characters and develop them. It even helps demonstrate Hans Landa's fluency in multiple language. Since most of the conservations are only loosely connected to the plot, this may draw some people off. However, these scenes usually conclude with some important plot development or action.
The cast is very strong, although not perfect. Tarantino does not give us as much information about the characters as we would want. He always leaves mysteries open and does not have a single figure take up much of the film's time. In particular, Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz gave commendable performances. The other actors all fit reasonably well.
The plot is secondary to the characters, but is generally good. Split into five chapters, not much happens in the first four parts except for character and plot development, mixed in a few surprising moments. By far the most significant part is the fifth chapter, which is an astounding finale. It is shocking and exaggerated in typical Tarantino fashion.
It is arguable about how much of a point the film has, but for most people it should be entertaining. If you enjoyed Tarantino's previous works, then you would find this one equally worthy.