Rent Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Absolute Rubbish - Inglourious Basterds review by CP Customer

World War 2 was a matter of life and death to many people and not a bloody pantomime!

This film is an insult not only to the allied forces in Europe but also to many of the Germans.

Unfortunately, I would not be surprised should many credulous viewers actually believe this to be part of our history.

Incongruous bilge - Inglourious Basterds review by CP Customer

I can see the atraction for Brad to play his role but not Samuel L Jackson. This is the usual "Us Americans saved the world in WWII" crap, until the last few minutes (if you can be bothered to sit through it that long) and then it all goes wrong for them except they have a get out clause at the end where good old Uncle Sam makes @em pay in the end.

Its Resevoir Dogs and Kill Bill meet the Nazis and not in a good way.

Rather lacking from Tarantino. He is one of my favourite directors but this is poor.

Worst movie of the last 5 years - Inglourious Basterds review by PV

This is a dire movie, even by QT's plummeting standards. Silly, badly written (repetitive dialogue; dialogue that is clearly Tarantino's voice spoken by several characters, so not differentiation). Ridiculous rewriting of history (why?) for no purpose. Silly pantomime-ish hiss-boo portrayal of Nazis. Utterly absurd and deeply unenjoyable.

How this ever made money and got nominated for awards is beyond me. It is trash. No stars.

good war film - Inglourious Basterds review by CP Customer

a good action war film which starts of wiv jews getting hunted and ends wiv a single jew getting her own bak on the nasty nazis would reccommed watching to any body

Great Start Little Else - Inglourious Basterds review by CP Customer

Tarantino’s decline continues with Inglorious Basterds, a film that is in dire need of trimming, a decent script and a steady hand. What we have here veers between comedy, drama and a thriller, with the latter representing the strongest aspect of the movie. It’s greatest moment is the opening period where we are first introduced to Colonel Hans Landa, marvellously portrayed by Christoph Waltz who is the real star of Inglorious Basterds. After this highpoint the film descends into farce and mockery, never managing to scale such heights again. Tarantino continues to annoy and frustrate as while this is an improvement on Death Proof, his childish script antics have ruined what should have been a knockout war movie.

A subversive & great film by Tarantino, with great performances despite some script flaws - Inglourious Basterds review by TB

Before Inglorious Basterds (IG) was released, Tarantino had frequently alluded to & talked about the WW2 action film he was going to make. After the financial failure of Death Proof, Tarantino dug out the half-finished script of IG & finished it. The result is a brilliant, although sometimes too talky film which nevertheless still to me is his best film of the most recent ones he has done.

The story, as with most of Tarantino's films, is split into several narratives. It imagines an alternate setting of WW2 & involves a French orphan, a group of Jewish American soldiers (the Basterds of the title) & finally the British undercover mission to kill Hitler. Along the way, there are many of the staples of Tarantino which are brilliant, such as Mexican standoffs, meaty dialogue & strong characters.

The thing which I did like most of all about this film & is in no way a spoiler is the rug-pull element of it: as much as it is marketed as an action film & there are some combat-scenes, this movie is much more interested in character & story. The titular Basterds themselves barely appear for a good chunk of the film & you hear much of their exploits through the anecdotes of the traumatised Nazi's who managed to survive encountering them.

The opening scene in particular is an absolute powerhouse of tension building, proving again just how much of a master of his craft Tarantino is with script & setting. We are also introduced to Hans Landa, an incredible multi-lingual character played to perfection by Christoph Waltz. Nicknamed the Jew Hunter, he is remorseless in his pursuit of the terrified people trying to escape the Nazi machine slaughtering them without mercy. Despite his absolutely dispicible motives, Landa is a wonderful character, constantly subverting expectations. And most of all, his refusal to be pigeonholed by anyone or any ideology.

Opposite him, Brad Pitt is also great as Aldo Raine, the Tennessee soldier with an accent as thick as Molasses sugar & on a mission to kill as many Nazis as possible with his platoon. His interactions, particularly with Landa, are a highlight: these two men who couldn't be more different in their beliefs seeing & respecting their shared drive. Raine looks at what is going on around him with horror & disgust, further emboldening him to complete his mission.

And finally, Melanie Laurant as Shoshanna is a worthy & compelling character, the orphan who is determined to track down & kill as many of the people responsible for killing her family as she can. Her interactions with Landa are also, once she recognises him, filled with tension.

Unfortunately, amongst all this good stuff, there is also a lot of bloat, particularly in a scene set in a coffee shop. Tarantino cuts away from the story to obsessively watch a group of Germans eating cake & talking at great length, slamming the brakes onto the narrative. Although the film does manage to pull itself back, it was an unnecessary & quite frustrating interruption, making the film longer than it needed to be.

Then we get to the ending & in true Tarantino style, everything goes crazy, but enjoyably so. It is a bonkers but also deliriously silly finale, setting just the right tone & giving us the payoff we wanted.

As for performances, they are all great, including the cameo's from people such as Mike Myers. Everything else, from the uniforms down to the locations is also excellent.

A riot of a film and one which, despite some flaws, I loved & feel probably won't be bettered with whatever QT makes next.

Glourious war drama - Inglourious Basterds review by CP Customer

Excellent war drama starring Brad Pitt. He was sometimes not very convincing in this film but this is worth a watch. Very explicit and the subtitles move at a very fast pace.