Review of Inglourious Basterds (2009) by Joshua M — 01 Sep 2018

Paying Homages, romanticizing cinema, getting into characters, glorifying violence, setting scenes with a captivating dialogue, and displaying delicious food; all the trademarks Tarantino usually boasts are here twice as much as in all his other movies.

Considering it's not a Western, or a mere Action film, Inglourious Basterds is quite possibly the most entertaining movie Tarantino has ever made so far, and that's due to many reasons. Besides that it has all common tropes and hallmarks you'll find, and throughly enjoy, in his movies, Inglourious Basterds is a very unique entry in the extraordinary director's career. The visual style has never become so remarkably striking in any of other Tarantino's movies.

From the opening moments, this movie proves that Tarantino is not just a master of dialogue, but also a master of suspense, but in his very own manner. Of course, the dialogue is the most powerful aspect in this scene, and in another suspenseful scene halfway through, but what Tarantino displays doubles down on the impact of suspense in a way you've never seen before; In the most Tarantino way he never showed before that his fans, like me, know very well!

The idiosyncratic visual style didn't stop dazzling me with its contribution in suspense, because it simply served at every level. It has a sense of pulp fantasy, and slapstick humor that, oddly, fits with the prevailing tone, maybe because this movie doesn't seem to have a specific tone. And what's more weirder is that the movie never feels inconsistent.

The performances here are plainly phenomenal. Thanks to the stellar cast that includes, Christoph Waltz whose Oscar-wining performance made Hans Landa one of the best movie villains of this century so far, Brad Pitt who is the only reason I had some hope of victory against Landa's cunning, and Mélanie Laurent who played Shosanna, one of the most interesting characters I've seen in any film in a while. There are many questions left unanswered about her character, and that's exactly what makes her character so compelling. Michael Fassbender also delivered a brilliant performance as always, most notably in the famous " German accent" scene that was the only great thing in a boring, monotonous Chapter Four that made me feel, for the first time in a Tarantino movie, that the dialogue scenes overstayed their welcome.

Speaking of dialogue scenes, this movie has some of the most iconic lines in amazing dialogue scenes thanks, in large part, to Christoph Waltz scene-stealer appearance. That being said, if there is only one of Tarantino's trademarks that I felt was missing while watching this movie, it would be the riveting, seemingly empty talk in a long scene Tarantino is famous for. Don't get me wrong, I said more than once that this movie has some of the most iconic lines, and some of the most clever dialogues ever put to film, but, as a Tarantino fan, I felt that something is missing in these dialogue scenes, and I found that it's the long talk that explores the character, and delve deeper in his personality and psyche.

Another issue, and this time I mean a real issue, I've with this movie is its ending, its very ending. While it couldn't be more satisfying to watch, I found defeating Hans Landa by fooling him in such easy way is completely absurd, and totally contradicts with all the antagonist's wits and slyness. For me, that was very hard to swallow.

Inglourious Basterds looks pretty good. As a matter of fact, I think it has the best cinematography among all the other Tarantino films. Mostly because of the nifty classic use of shadows and lights that matches perfectly the setting of the movie. Adding to that, Inglourious Basterds also has a killer soundtrack.

Inglourious Basterds is a maniac, thrill ride that has one of the best cast ensemble ever put to film. It's a rare case when a director's self-indulgence causes more good than harm. It's a classic Tarantino!

(8.5/10).