Inglorious Basterd is Quniton Tarantino's latest effort and this time round he is both writer and director. The film is set during the second world war in Nazi occupied France and focuses on the war taking place off the battlefield. While there is indeed action, this is decidedly more thriller than action flick.
We meet Lieutenant Aldo Reine (Brad Pitt) as he assembles a crack team of Jewish-Amercian soldiers to drop in behind enemy lines and engage in some good, old fashioned guerrilla warfare to both thin out the Nazi ranks and lower the morale of German soldiers by scaring the living shit out of them.
Of course, this is more that a simple tale of Nazi head hunting, but revealing any more of the plot here would only diminish your enjoyment of the film.
A majority of the dialogue is in French and German, so have your reading glasses handy. I know some people are put off by subtitles, but cheating with English cheapens a film. *cough-Valkyrie-cough*
As with past Tarantino films, screen time is broken up well and we get to enjoy a wide variety of three dimensional characters. I wasn't sure about Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine when he was first introduced, but by the end of the film, I loved him like ice cream. Who'd have thought that a hillbilly-moonshiner from Maynardville, Tennessee would be a master for foreign accents.
My favourite character however was Col. Hans Landa, played brilliantly by Christoph Waltz. Old Hans is a Nazi Colonel with a knack for tracking down Jews and helping them increase their daily lead intake. This has earned him the not so ironic nickname: "The Jew Hunter". Landa is extremely polite and despite his grim vocation, has an infectiously cheerful demeanor. Though, I doubt any Jew that has crossed paths with him would find his smile contagious. The guy is a stone-cold killer and crazy smart to boot. If Hannibal Lecter and Columbo had a teleporter accident, Col. Hans Landa would be the result.
I really did enjoy the entire cast except for the relatively brief appearance of Mike Myers. His British accent wasn't convincing enough for me. Perhaps it's because he has played so many ridiculous roles. The entire time he was on screen, I was expecting him to make a fart joke or get kicked in the balls. Personally, I thought that he looked and sounded like a poor mans David Mitchell, who I would much rather have seen in the role.
According to IMBD, Simon Pegg was originally cast as Lt. Archie Hicox and Adam Sandler was approached by Tarantino to play Sgt. Donny Donowitz. Schedualing conflicts prevented both men from taking part in the film. All I can say is: thank God for that. Another home run for fate. Now, I Love Simon Pegg as much as the next guy, but after seeing Michael Fassbender and Eli Roth strut their stuff, I doubt that I would have enjoyed the two characters in question nearly as much if Simon and Adam had played them.
The violence that, as with most of Tarantino films, serves as the action pulls no punches. I wouldn't say it was excessive, but you wouldn't have to travel far to get there. There are no car chases or elaborate fight scenes, only sporadic moments of brutality and violence which I enjoyed immensely.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the highly detailed and authentic+Based on every WWII game I've played costumes and sets. I've always been a big fan of that era though. The men in tuxedo's and dinner jackets. The women in glamorous yet modest evening dresses. It makes me long for the 1940's and 50's.+Back when you could pop a teenager in the chops for cracking wise. Those were the days. The scenes are thick with atmosphere and the entire film really is a beautiful thing to watch.
Inglorious Basterds is a top film. There's an intelligent story, enjoyable dialogue, memorable characters, and plenty of violence. There really isn't a lot more I could ask from this film. Even my fiancee enjoyed it (and she's a girl!). Put this one on your must watch list.
I'm giving Inglorious Basterds four and a half over-sized pipes out of five.
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