Quentin Tarantino is part of a very select group among Hollywood directors. He could literally direct a movie about a pack of baby seal-clubbing, gun-toting, bank-robbing nuns who spawn from the holiest convent known to man, do so while filming on a stack of dead puppies, and it would still be regarded as a cinematic masterpiece-he has that power.
Over the past fifteen years he has thrown his proverbial hat into the ring of several overdone genres including vampires, superheroes, and gangsters. Yet he still managed to master them all with his demiurgic and unique personal style -- this year, it’s WWII..
Ever since he publicly made it known that he was working on a WWII script ten years ago, Tarantino fans across the world have been salivating at the mouth to catch a glimpse of Inglourious Basterds. Now, the time has come. Although Inglourious Basterds falls one or two quarts of blood short of what QT fans have become accustomed to in recent films such as Kill Bill 1 & 2, and Death Proof, it still has the witty dialogue, vast array of characters, and episodic touch that only a Tarantino film can deliver.
Inglourious Basterds centers on “The Basterds,” a small, but reputable group of Jewish-American soldiers hell-bent on spreading fear throughout the Third Reich by scouting out, scalping, and brutally killing every Nazi that crosses their path. Led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), a Southerner from the mountains of Tennessee, “The Basterds” provide several comedic moments as well as fulfill the somewhat low, by Tarantino standards anyway, blood quota for the film. Although it’s not the massacre depicted by the trailer, the effort put forth by “The Basterds” will surely please QT fans.
“The Basterds” aren’t the only ones out to get the Germans. Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), a young Jewish refugee who witnesses the murder of her family at the hands of German Colonel Hans Landa (Christopher Waltz), also seeks revenge in the form of a pile of Nazi bodies. A few years after escaping with her life, a fateful meeting with German war hero turned movie star Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), who immediately shows romantic interest in her, provides her the opportunity to not only host his upcoming movie premier (in the movie theater left to her by her aunt), but also get a gob of Germans under the same roof. Zoller’s new film focuses on his time spent in the war during which he killed many Jewish soldiers. This catches the eye of all major Nazi officers, who plan on attending the event to show their appreciation, as well the eye of “The Basterds,” who also plan to drop in to create some havoc. The premier takes place and devious plans are set in motion, leading to a somewhat predictable, yet thoroughly satisfying climactic finale in which all the characters become intertwined in true Tarantino fashion.
Inglourious Basterds is developed so intricately by the dexterous mind of Quentin Tarantino that the acting almost takes a back seat to the brilliance of the story. But this doesn’t stop leading man Brad Pitt and newcomer Mélanie Laurent from giving hypnotizing performances that will have fans across the globe shuffling their top 5 favorite Tarantino characters to incorporate Lt. Aldo Raine and Shosanna Dreyfus.
Brad Pitt, who spends a lot of the film supervising his “Dirty Dozen”-style mission team and demanding stacks of Nazi scalps, also spotlights in some scenes of his own. One, where he jabs his finger into a gaping bullet wound, sparkles with Tarantino vulgarity, and a few others, where he carves swastikas into the forehead of the Germans, would make even an iron-stomached surgeon cringe.
French newcomer Mélanie Laurent schemes, snakes, and seduces her way into the hearts of viewers as the newest Tarantino femme fatale, and will undoubtedly rise to prominence after fans get a taste of her beauty and charm. Other noteworthy performances by Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth (writer of Hostel and Cabin Fever), Diane Kruger, and Martin Wuttke as Adolf Hitler, make QT’s latest picaresque tale worth the price of admission.
