Inglourious Basterds (No Spoilers)
Violent, Intelligent, Fun.
Inglourious Basterds is a classic Tarantino movie. That alone should be enough, but a one line review would be odd. A perfect mix of satirical violence and intelligent dialogue, Inglourious Basterds is a spaghetti western set in World War II. Sitting in the the theater for 2 hours and 40 minutes was a first, but the movie manages to stay fresh throughout. This is surprising considering it uses practically the same formula for every “chapter”. In true Tarantino style, the movie is divided into a series of inter-related vignettes mostly consisting of some intensive conversation with two or three people, followed by short bursts of intensive violence.
Tarantino is never afraid to get graphic, and the camera never balks from showing even the most gruesome acts of war. There’s not much “war” in this World War II flick, but when some does occur it leaves an impression. Much of the movie isn’t actually about the Basterds, but focuses on a wide range of characters in civilian situations. Brad Pitt (in my opinion) took a backseat to Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, and Daniel Bruhl. If you haven’t heard any of those names, it’s because none of them are mainstream Hollywood at all.
Tarantino opted for authenticity as opposed to star power and it shows in the movie. A lot of the dialogue is in German or French, and the little English that is spoken is usually with a heavy accent denoting the speaker’s country. Other than a short cameo by Mike Myer’s, this was the one movie where I felt that the accents were genuine (which in most cases they were), and not an act. The actual acting was top notch. The only under-performer was B.J. Novak, but since he had around three lines the entire movie it didn’t really annoy me.
As for the actual plot,don’t expect a movie that’s a stickler for historical accuracy. In fact it’s just the opposite, with history being hugely re-written for the sake of the movie, and that’s perfectly fine. The movie deals mainly with a plot to kill Joseph Goebbels in a movie theater, mixed in with the Nazi persecution of the Jewish population of France. Or to be more accurate, the Jewish persecution of the Nazis’s, whenever the Basterds are on film. Tarantino has an art of making violence amusing, and Basterds does this throughout. From numerous Mexican standoffs in unlikely situations, to the psychological threat of the “BEAR JEW”, there was rarely a moment where I wasn’t laughing even while wincing at the graphic beatdowns.
I have no idea why the movie is spelled “Inglourious”, as opposed to “Inglorious”, but it was a damn sight better than District 9. (Sorry, still sore about how underachieving that movie was).