Inglourious Basterds – Review (Film)

Inglourious Basterds was a labour of love for Quentin Tarantino. The acclaimed director took more than a decade to craft the script, becoming obsessed with making it his greatest work. So was it worth the effort or has Tarantino fallen short of greatness?

Telling the story of two undercover plots to inflict damage on the Nazi war effort, the film focuses on a Jewish girl orphaned by the SS and a group of Jewish US soldiers who inflict revenge on German soldiers.

Inglourious Basterds clocks in at the 2 and 1/2 hour mark but never feels overly long and the pace is maintained by switching between the two plots as they run parallel towards an explosive conclusion.

I really liked this film, obviously if you’re squeamish it’ll have you flinching in places but the violence never feels too out of place and while I felt the film was missing some of that trademark Tarantino dialogue, it probably benefitted from a tighter script.

There were a lot of great perfomances in the film, Brad Pitt obviously springs to mind as Aldo Raine and Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus was impressive. For me though the plaudits have to go Christoph Waltz for his creepy, reserved performance as Hans Landa. Without his stirling performance the film may have veered towards a more ‘cartoony’ feel.

In places this film really did remind me of those tense war films of the past – stuff like The Great Escape – and I think, while over the top in parts, it lands on the right side of the action genre. It’s also quite refreshing to see a World War II film that isn’t purporting to be based on true events for a change.

Quentin Tarantino has reason to be pleased with the film as well in terms of success – Inglourious Basterds gave him his best ever opening weekend at the box office and has been showered with praise from most reviewers.

For me personally I’m not sure that it’s up there with Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs but it’s certainly the best thing he’s done for a long time.

Rating: 8/10

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