Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino likes to take his time between films. He'd originally announced the concept for Inglorious Bastards shortly after Jackie Brown (and the advent of the World Wide Web) though details were sparse, set to star then Tarantino favorite Michael Madsen and citing World War II and French Jewish Nazi Killers, the project was seemingly forgotten in the wake of the looming Kill Bill rumor mill. Now, 10 years later, Inglourious Basterds (misspelling intentional) finally sees the light of day.

The first thing to be aware of going in is that this is a Quentin Tarantino movie. There will be lots of dialog. Excessive amounts of it, actually, but this has always been Tarantino's strong suit. Each series of dialogs and monologues has such a specific tone and pace that the building tension is impossible to look away from. Not to mention that every payoff is exhiliratingly poignant (and inexcusably bad ass in only a way Quentin can sell it.) His structure is set up like a more deeply connected Pulp Fiction. Each act serving as a specific chapter (with chapter titles preceding each) that all collide into a beautifully chaotic final sequence that will get the vengeance blood pumping straight through your cerebral cortex.

Using his multiple narrative style, "Basterds" bounces from Lt. Aldo Raine and his band of merry nazi scalpers to the plight of a Jewish refugee operating an independent movie theater in German occupied France and ties them all together with a British top secret operation set on turning the tables of WWII. On the other side of the fence is S.S. Col. Hans Landa and Pvt. turned actor Frederick Zoller in their attempts to promote the Third Reich and defuse the Basterds proverbial death march.

Though the cast went through a roller coaster of changes up until filming began, Tarantino couldn't have assembled a better set of actors for his latest work. Leading the pack of "Basterds," as they're christened, is of course Brad Pitt. While Lt. Aldo Raine may not necessarily be the best performance of his career, it is definitely one of the most entertaining. His thick southern Tennessee accent provides hearty laughs in between nazi (pronounced crude, yet delightfully as "gnat see") killings. Eli Roth (Cabin Fever and Hostel director turned Tarantino protege) heads up second in command to the "Basterds" as Donnie Donowitz, aka "The Bear Jew," the most feared nazi killer of the lot (and for good reason, we see in detail.) Though the Basterds themselves only make up a mere 30% of the two plus hour film, the real stars of the film are Christophe Waltz as the menacingly lighthearted villain, Col. Hans Landa and the vengeful, Jewish refugee, Shoshanna Dreyfus played pitch perfectly by French actress Mélanie Laurent. Shoshanna, being the only surviving member of her slaughtered family carries a quiet rage and an inherent sense of melancholy. Landa on the other hand, is a truly terrifying villain. Not only does he outwardly love his job, but takes a certain pleasure in playing a game of verbal cat and mouse before going in for the kill (literally, most times.) Other notable players include The Office's writer/actor/favorite temp, BJ Novak, Mike Meyers in an unexpected cameo, Diane Kruger (National Treasure 1 and 2) as German actress Bridget Von Hammersmark and Til Schweiger's nazi killing psychopath, Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz.

Combining his affections for vintage exploitation films of the 60's and 70's and his pop sensibilities as a product of the 90's, Tarantino's latest sets his watermark to a new high. The quality of performance and narrative styling is easily on par with his latter day success, Pulp Fiction. Despite its almost 10 year gestation period, Inglourious Basterds was indeed worth the wait.