Synopsis:

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

The Freak's Rating: A : Few films have an appeal for me such as one from Quentin Tarantino.  I may be forced into a fit of uncontrollable rage if I cannot see them on opening day.  In 1994, Pulp Fiction was released.  It changed the way film was produced, forever.  I was also instantly converted into a Quentin Tarantino fan, digesting every project pre/post Pulp project as quickly as I could.  I found with each one that I fell deeper and depper in love with the style.  Inglourious Basterds has been postponed on and off over the last 15 years, with whispers of its intensity scattered across message boards and film sets, causing geeks like me to giggle like a preschooler when we heard the news of its 2009 release.  So I worked late last night in order to be able to take a couple hours off on opening day to see the first showing near my zip code.

Inglourious Basterds' trailer suggests that the entire film is based upon the conquests of a single group of Jews and Americans hell bent on causing pain to Nazis.  Though Brad Pitt's "nat-zi" lines in the trailer may draw crowds, the film is based around a number of characters.  There are five chapters and each has its own style, a QT signature.  Though the Basterds shine through as the most likeable, there are equally powerful scenes where there isn't a Basterd to be found.  The opening sequence is one of, if not the best 20 minutes ever put onto film and the tension is phenomenal.  When you watch direction of this caliber, you can't help but take note and sit back in awe as a film lover.

QT's style is dominant from the opening titles, lending flare and zest to the font selection, yes the font selection, of various actors in the film.  Music plays a dominant role in every scene containing an ounce of tension (which nearly all do) and the dialogue is mind blowingly captivating, perhaps QT's best to date.  There are scenes written into IB that are some of the best I've ever seen and cinematography is perfectly orchestrated throughout.  Narration during a few select portions of the film is even carried out by Samuel L. Jackson, a nice touch.  Oh, and for those who think this might have historical accuracy, let me be clear.  The story starts with "Once upon a time, in Nazi-occupied France".  It is a fairy tale based upon some actual people, QT style.

Casting is nicely done with very few exceptions.  Eli Roth has all the evil glare that one would expect out of a baseball bat donning killer.  Brad Pitt once again proves he is flat out awesome and Christoph Waltz should be honored with an Academy Award for his performance as Hans Landa, The Jew Killer.  B.J. Novak is an odd choice in the role of The Little Man, rarely utilized in any manner but the remainder of the cast (Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl and Melanie Laurent) are perfectly cast (QT made sure each actor's distinct nationality matched his/her character perfectly).

Eli Roth is a tad over the top in moments as The Bear Jew, especially as it pertains to his dialogue.  This is most noticable when his character has more than one line, something the editing/writing team made sure didn't happen often.  The biggest flaw in the film is that Basterd deaths are treated with far less attention than their colorful characters deserve.  Some notable characters bite the dust and aren't given near the pomp and circumstance they received with their cinematic introduction.  I could have forgiven Eli's performance and kept an A+, but the latter flaw knocks it down a peg or two on the A scale.

Should the Academy of Arts & Sciences ever wise up and recognize QT for all he has contributed to cinema, IB would win every award imaginable.  More than likely a few nominations for acting (Waltz) and perhaps recognition for writing and cinematography may occur.  The directing talent to pull out performances from his cast, mold together storylines and present stylized entertainment will never have an equal to Tarantino.

After I saw the film, my wife called me to see what I thought.  I am an enormous fan of digesting films for at least a few hours before giving a truly thought out opinion.  The one thing I said with certainly a mere minutes after it wrapped was "it was probably the most entertaining film I've seen in years".  I stand by that statement and add that now, hours after viewing it, I am thinking back to numerous scenes and completely in awe of what I just witnessed.  It is a QT masterpiece, one or two rating points lower than Pulp Fiction and deserving of a repeat visit with certaintly.  I honestly cannot wait.

Matt's Rating: A : Excellent film.  I enjoyed how QT manned up and took a revisionist approach to history.  The last 30 minutes had me in complete suspense as well as the scene in the bar.  A LOT of subtitle reading which may cause problems for some.  I got over it pretty quickly in the beginning.  Music, violence etc. were all done perfectly.  I jumped in my seat a couple of times and a few scenes made me slightly sick to my stomach (in a good way). Definitely recommend!

Brian's Rating: A+ : Like Scott, QT is my generation's film making hero.  He is to us as Spielberg and Scorsese were to our parents.  QT is simply a film making genius.  I was introduced to him with Reservoir Dogs and never looked back.

Every thing he makes since Pulp Fiction will always be compared to Pulp Fiction, and I can say with certainty that this film was as good, or even better, than PF.  It certainly was not as groundbreaking, but in terms of sheer quality, it stands toe to toe.  Some, like Scott, will say that IB falls a bit short.  Some, like me, say that this one is every bit as good, and in some places even better.

Where do I start my praise?  How about with the casting of the "Jew Hunter"  (Scott says "Jew Killer", but I remember it differently).  The actor is phenomenal!!  He is either quad-lingual (English, French, German, Italian) or he had some extremely good coaching.  He milked every last ounce of tension from the dialog that was written for him, and was seriously just about as freaky to me as the psychopath from No Country for Old Men.  His facial expressions were perfect.  His demeanor was like a grenade sitting in front of you with the pin pulled.  He is QT's best casting yet, and that says a lot that I would put him ahead of Samuel L. Jackson from PF.

This brings me to the dialog.  As the French would say, Magnifique! This is where QT shines.  Suspense through dialog.  It is the seal of style for every QT short film, or movie.  It is his legacy, and it is his genius.  Never before in any film every created has dialog been written, delivered, and directed to be so mind-bendingly captivating.  The dialog in itself, delivered in long take scenes, is a suspense vehicle that QT uses to perfection.  It is the action film in itself.  The dialog in this film lives up to every expectation.  As Scott says, the opening scene is one of the best ever created.  It has the viewer on a razor's edge, and rapt with anticipation.  I don't want to give it away, but I could have left the theater after that first 20 minutes and came away satisfied that I had seen the greatest one act short film ever created.   Yes, I am setting the bar high, but it will not fail you.  The rest of the movie just spring boards from there and kept me riveted throughout.

A bit on the music; the score.  Like always, he is great at selecting unique background music that is perfectly suited for the scene.  Its harsh when it needs to be, then can switch on a dime to an unsuspecting moment of tenderness.  It seems to me like he lifted scores directly out of some of the influencing genres in order ot further strengthen the genre blending style that is his own.

And now finally, a disagreement on Scott's reason for knocking this down.  The death of notable characters in an unflourishing manner?  Psshaw!  I say Psshaw to that.  It is done on purpose, it suits his style, and it highlights, like always, how simple death really is no matter how gregarious and complicated the character.  Like Vincent getting unceremoniously gunned down while coming out of the crapper, or just about the entire cast of Reservoir Dogs going down in a eerily simple and quick simultaneous trigger pull, just like those characters, these die in an unexpected and very quick manner.  Its this casualness with when QT treats the life of his characters that precisely makes the suspense so riveting.  A situation can turn on a dime, and be finished.  Mind you, not all the deaths are trivial, but I have absolutely zero problem with the ones that are.  In fact, it highlights the death scenes that are played up that much more.  Not even close would this cause me to knock down my rating, and in fact, if every single character had a flourish to his demise, then it loses the unique appeal that QT brings to the table.

In summary, this is the best movie I have seen in a very long time.  I buy very few movies, but I will buy this one.  I believe, like PF, I will be able to watch this one tirelessly, and enjoy it every time.  The final line of dialog in the movie says it all, "I do believe this is my masterpiece" (or something very close to it).  That line is referring to something on screen, but it is also very clearly a closing statement that QT is making on the film as a whole.  I tend to agree.  It is QTs masterpiece.  For now, I put it on par with Pulp Fiction, but maybe after another dozen viewings I will elevate it on my scorecard to the top spot.  It a day after I watched the film, and as I write this review,  I am still humming with excitement.

What more can I say?  You can't lose.  Go see it.  It does not get any better than this.

Joyce's Rating: A : All I can say is WOW!! I agree wholeheartedly with all the comments about this movie. I thought this was going to be a totally serious film, what a nice surprise. I found myself having a myriad of reactions, from levity to shock (scalpings) The performance of Christoph Waltz was magnificient!!...a real scumbag but so cunning! The subtitles didn't bother me at all. I will definately see this again.

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