Review of Inglourious Basterds (2009) by Hazel H — 21 Oct 2015

Basterds is probably my favorite of the Tarantino movies I've seen. A lot of that can be credited to the great cast, and what a stellar job they do at establishing their characters. What amazed me about this film is how expertly it builds tension in many of the scenes.

Since we know everything that is going on, but are never sure how much the Nazis know, it creates a level of stress that I don't often experience when watching a movie. Christoph Waltz was particularly great at presenting a calm demeanor, and never betraying his inner thoughts.

I also like the way the film starts off with seemingly separate stories that eventually all intertwine for a big climactic finish. If I had any complaint it would be that the end didn't bring quite as much emotional satisfaction as I expected it might, possibly because so many characters I loved ended up dead.

Still, this is the first Tarantino movie I've watched where I thought "I might need to own that" because I could see the value in seeing it again. Definitely an entertaining movie with more depth than I anticipated.