Quentin Tarantino garners a very big mixed reaction. A lot of people find him overrated, while a lot of people find him to be one of the more brilliant minds in cinema today. I tend to find myself leaning somewhere closer to the brilliant, so when a movie comes out he has written/directed it tends to be a big event for me.
Enter Inglorious Basterds. It follows three main stories: that of a group of Jewish soldiers lead by Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) that are attempting to kill as many Nazis as possible, much to the chagrin of Adolf Hitler himself. It also focuses on German officer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), known by the Jewish people as the “Jew Hunter” due to his ability to sniff them out of hiding. Finally, we see Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), a woman whose entire family was snuffed out by Hans Landa and his men.
The film is pretty typical Tarantino. A misconception is this is a remake of a film with the same title; they have nowhere near the same plot. Quentin hasn’t lost his knack for dialogue, and may be at his best here.
Brad Pitt was superb as Aldo Raine. You could tell he was really having fun with the character. One thing I’ve always enjoyed about Pitt is he’s not afraid to take on interesting, different roles. This is far from anything I’ve seen him do, and he shined in it well. A particular scene with him
I must admit though, no one shocked me more so than Christoph Waltz, playing Hans Landa. He was phenomenal, and seemed to steal every scene he was involved with. I hope to see him in more English language films from here on out.
A lot of people will compare this film to his other works, and rightfully so: people will always compare a film-maker’s catalog. If I were to compare, I would honestly say this film could potentially be his best yet. It’s too early to tell, as I’ve had multiple viewings of each other one. I must say this does give his other flicks a run for their money.
If you like Tarantino, you will not be disappointed.