Inglourous Basterds review

I recall reading British actor Simon Pegg's (of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz fame) blog when he described Tarantino's script for Inglourious Basterds, and he referred to it as audacious. Roger Ebert's recently posted review of the film also claimed the film of being audacious. And well I'd hate to simply rehash what these two fine gentlemen said before, if it is nothing else, Inglourious Basterds is undoubtedly audacious. A wild, funny, and passionate film that defies genres, and expectations.

The film goes back and forth, focusing on multiple characters who seemingly are un-connected until the end, where their fates are intertwined. There's Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), and his secret service team, "The Basterds". On the Nazi side, there's Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), nicknamed, "The Jew Hunter." And there's Shossana Dreyfus, a Jewish cinema owner whose family was murdered by Landa.

Right away, we are introduced to Landa and his peculiar sensiblites. It's easy to see why Waltz was awarded the Cannes Best Actor Award; He brings a delightful glee to the role, but stops from going into camp. He makes an unforgettable impression on the audience, which is noteworthy, considering a good amount of his dialogue is in a different language.

In this film, we see Brad Pitt, the actor, rather than, Brad Pitt, the celebrity. The great thespian we saw in "Twelve Monkeys" or "Fight Club". The great thespian who was lost in murky junk like "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and the "Ocean's" films. Pitt delivers each line with such panahce that when a scene that doesn't feature him comes on screen, we almost miss him a little.

Contrasting the wild and funny Landa and Raine is Dreyfus, whose arc is more dramatic in nature, but no less entertaining. She is constantly being harrassed by war hero Fredreick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl), who is infantuated with Shoshanna. He eventually convinces Dr. Joseph Goebbels to have his movie premiere at her cinema, which Shoshanna uses to her advantage to gain revenge.

As you can probably tell, I throughly enjoyed this film. It is utterly Tarantino in every way, shape, and form. The dialogue plays incredibly well, and every joke gets a laugh. The over-the-top violence is entertaining, not obscene. And there's movie references galore, which should make most movie geeks blush.

There are some scenes that go on a little too long, but I suspect those scenes would enjoyed more in a second or third viewing. And I certainly will be more than willing to watch this film again and again.