Let my people go

Rating: 5/10 (12 February 2010)

Another juvenile revenge fantasy brought to you by the master of the genre. Mr. Tarantino knows his demographic well, and he plays to it expertly here. Just as Ronald Reagan was directly responsible for the "dumbing down" of American political discourse, so too has QT taken on the responsibility for the dumbing down of American cinema.
Brad Pitt provides some unintentional laughs in the lead role of Lt. Aldo Raine. His hill-country accent is never believable. A descendant of American Indians, Raine is of course, the right man for the job. Especially the part about taking Nazi scalps. Ah, QT. You are certainly an equal opportunity offender.
Which brings to mind how uneasy I am about Mr. Tarantino taking on the mantle of filmmaker as fantasy avenger for the Jewish people. The holocaust and Nazi atrocities are not exactly the most apt sources for a farce such as this. I'm reminded of Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful," another misguided attempt at mining humor from a situation that was an abject nightmare for any and all of its unfortunate participants.
There are one or two set pieces that demonstrate Mr. Tarantino's skill at developing a well-realized scene. But overall, the effect is mind-numbingly sensational, and then, quickly forgettable. The movie is like a bad dream, whose bits and pieces you're unable to reconstruct into a cohesive whole. My greatest fear is that this piece of revisionist history will be remembered by its legion of youthful Tarantino enthusiasts as the way things actually went down. Thanks for nothing, QT.