When the number of bullets fired equals the number of scalped heads, it must be a Tarantino movie. When the dialogue repeatedly references obscure movies, it must be a Tarantino movie. And when the director of a movie references his own movie, it must be a Tarantino movie. “Inglourious Basterds” is a Quentin Tarantino movie and he constantly reminds the audience of this fact. Like his previous outings, “Basterds” is an exercise in style, genre and his personal favorite – violence. Yet, through this constant reminder, Tarantino invites comparison to his other films, and while “Basterds” does not live up to the genius of “Pulp Fiction,” “Reservoir Dogs” or “Kill Bill,” he still creates a fun, energetic ride
The film presents three different points of view, and in Tarantino fashion, they all meet in the end. Col. Hans Landa (Christopher Waltz, English-language debut) is “The Jew Hunter,” a detective for the Nazis doing exactly what his name implies. Meanwhile, Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent, English-language debut) opens a movie theater in Paris, attracting the attention of Nazi war hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl, “The Bourne Ultimatum”) whose story has been turned into a movie. The premiere of the film is relocated to Shosanna’s theater with Col. Landa running security.
And then there are the Basterds, a group of Jewish American soldiers who are ordered to kill Nazis in brutal ways. Lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), the Basterds are invited to the movie premiere by a German actress and agent for the Allies, Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger, “Troy”).
If it sounds like the Basterds are underused, it is because they are. The scenes with the boys are enjoyable and humorous. Pitt gives a John Wayne type performance in an attempt to set up the “Let’s go get ’em!” feel of ’50s WWII movies. Raine is a caricature, experiences nothing and learns no lesson in the end, but he is extremely entertaining and full of memorable one-liners. The standout scene with the Basterds, though, involves Eli Roth (“Hostel”) as “The Bear Jew” clubbing a Nazi to death. The scene is filled with power and testosterone. Unfortunately, the Basterds have less screen time than one desires.
However, the star of the film is Waltz who can expect an Oscar nomination. His performance was incredibly layered and his motivations were clear and almost sickening. The way Landa could manipulate people and back them into a corner was incredible. His vocal tone and facial expressions remained constant throughout the scenes, which heightened the suspense, especially in the first brilliant scene at a farm in France. Waltz takes his time building the suspense, but does not shout or explode when it seems expected, making his character realistic and frightening. All in all, Landa is an excellent foil to the one note Raine and certainly steals every scene in the movie.
While there are no problems with Tarantino’s masterpiece, “Pulp Fiction,” this movie unfortunately has its fair share. The pace of the film slows as drastically as it speeds up. One scene in a bar in Paris has about 10 minutes of dialogue before the action starts and soldiers hold guns to each other – a perfect example of Tarantino referencing his own “Reservoir Dogs.” At this point, the movie was thrilling and exciting, even before the violence, but the lagging dialogue could have been cut short. Tarantino the director loves Tarantino the writer and moviegoer, so while he may be enjoying referencing obscure movies, the lesser movie fans are left in the dust. His dialogue still sounds sharp and stylistic, but it needs to be cut sometimes.
Still, the overarching problem of this film is in certain parts where it feels as though Tarantino is doing his best impression of Tarantino. When introducing the Basterds, Tarantino highlights Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz as if the film was a “Batman” cartoon. Yes, this was funny and, yes, this plays to his meshing of genres fascination, but it felt as though Tarantino thought, “I’ll do this because it is something I typically do.” Between this and the sometimes funny but typically unnecessary subtitles, Tarantino needs to stop pretending to be himself and simply just be.
Overall, “Inglourious Basterds” is a great movie and guarantees a smile for two and a half hours, but it does not achieve the level of genius Tarantino has previously displayed. As a side note, this movie has been described as “Jewish Torture Porn” and unrealistic, but this reviewer is Jewish and finds it difficult to separate the movie from being Jewish in a satisfactory way. But this is a feeling almost everyone should empathize with because Hitler is dead and WWII is over and all that is left is to make a fictional movie about Nazis being scalped.
4.5 stars out of 5
