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Presenting its audience with brutal violence and comic relief, Inglourious Basterds works in a way that only Tarantino could pull off.
Starting
with "Once Upon a Time… In Nazi Occupied France", the film immediately
feels like a World War II spaghetti western in which we endure our
first encounter with Nazi Colnel Hans Landa (an incredible performance
by this years Cannes Best Actor winner, Christoph Waltz).
Nicknamed
"The Jew Hunter", Landa’s efforts in putting Hitler’s "Final Solution"
into effect gives him instant notoriety and kicks off one of the most
intense openings to a film I can recall seeing... ever!
"The
Basterds" (mentioned in the film's title) are led by Lt. Aldo Raine
(Brad Pitt) along with "Bear Jew" Donnie Donowitz (Eli Roth) and are a
group of men chosen to spread fear amongst the Nazi's by brutally
killing as many as possible.
When the entire Nazi high command
target a movie theatre in Paris to host their event, the Basterds cross
paths with the cinema owner Shosanna Dreyfuss (Melanie Laurent), who
also realises the potential outcome of what the evening brings.
Dreyfuss
is hell bent on revenge after a prior incident with the Nazi’s and is
determined, along with the Basterds and Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane
Kruger), to end the Nazi’s reign in foul swoop.
Interestingly, despite Tarantino's reputation for copious amounts of graphic violence, Inglourious Basterds forgoes this and relies more on highly witty dialogue and lengthy scenes.
Diehard
fans, however, wont be disappointed as the gore Tarantino is renowned
for (however brief) does the trick with full force (Did I mention "Bear
Jew" has a weapon of choice... called a baseball bat?).
Despite
the apparent lack of violence, it does little to deter the audience
and holds them captivate for the entire 150 minute running time.
Taking a wild-ride through Tarantino’s "WWII Nazi Fairytale" is like going to the playground and getting punched in the face.
Described by Eli Roth himself as "Jewish Revenge Porn", Inglourious Basterds is definitely up there with Tarantino’s best work and fans and critic’s alike wont be left disappointed.
And just quietlly - I think Tarantino just may have made a film I can consider more than a "sometimes film". DVD Special Features
A friend of the Web Wombat team was foolish enough to rush out a grab the bare bones single disc edition of Inglorious Basterds, not realising that by spending less than $5 more - you can get a jam packed 2 Disc Edition in a steelbook.
Fool!
There
is almost to much to comprehend here. From deleted and extended scenes,
to countless featurettes and commentaries - it's pretty much a
Tarantino fans wet dream!
Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 75%
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