He's finally gone completely mad...

Rating: 2/10 (8 December 2009)

I actually sat down expecting to like this movie, and honestly even tried to enjoy it. Ultimately, however, it failed to entertain me.
Rarely have I seen a film that I thought so dull and childish. Besides two scenes that were nearly interesting, the rest, bad as they were, were dulled even further by lengthy and unlikely dialogue punctuated by scenes of gratuitous, gory violence.
The entire film seemed somehow schizoid, straining precariously on the verge of being a farcical comedy, yet ne'er so much as a titter was raised from this viewer.
The long-winded opening scene held some promise, but between that and an interesting rendezvous later in the movie, it sagged. After the second nearly-interesting scene, it free-wheeled downhill.
The tedium of the movie was almost salvaged by the compelling performance of Waltz, and Laurent, attractive and convincing, almost injects a touch of passion... but it wasn't enough. I frequently lost interest.
At points, I was almost offended - not so much by the ludicrous plot, inept writing/direction, or wanton brutality, but by the sheer audacity, inaccuracy, anachronism, and blatant historical theft that attempts to lend gravitas and meaning, but simply insults the intelligence.
It's a shame that an otherwise promising line up was wasted on this sloppy, thoughtless material - how can such a great cast be so... miscast?
I've given it two stars. One star is for the opening scene, which I found genuinely gripping, and the other is for the strongest and most interesting character in the entire movie, some of whose scenes are the only ones worth watching if only for the chilling cordiality that shrouds the menace he infuses into every line and gesture.
The other eight stars are in a drawer somewhere with Quentin's lost marbles.