Inglourious Basterds - A Crazy, Brilliant, Masterpiece

Inglourious Basterds

By: Noah Newcomb

There Will Be Spoilers Throughout, Go To My Final Thoughts 

To Hear What I Think About The Film, This Is A Film 

That I Find Hard Not To Spoil Read This Review If

You've Seen The Movie, Inglourious Basterds

Thrives On Its Suspense

       Quentin Tarintino was a director I had always wanted to get to. His work is legendary with movies like Pulp Fiction, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and Django Unchained to name a few. However, I am only thirteen and Tarintino is known for making very profane and gory films. It took a lot of convincing to my parents for me to see Inglourious Basterds. Before I even get to whether or not I like the movie I do want to say that I can see why my parents were cautious for me to see the movie. Tarintino's reputation precedes him. Inglourious Basterds is a very gory film. Tarantino doesn't crack down too hard on the language in this film but the gore is very intense. All that aside, Inglourious Basterds is awesome! Tarantino brings a unique style to the film that makes it a one of a kind masterpiece. Every performance is great. Except for Eli Roth who didn't do much for me. I honestly just didn't really care for his character, I did like the concept though. Some performances are better than others sure, but just about every performance is a solid one. I do want to mention B. J. Novak just because I really like B. J. Novak mainly from The Office of course. I do like him in The Founder and Saving Mr. Banks. I wasn't going to be pleased if he didn't get his moment which he does. Novak realizing want the Nazi's call him, "Little Man" is a good moment and sounds like something Novak himself would write. Novak doesn't really do anything in this film but I did want to mention him. I was really excited when Michael Fassbender showed up who I really like from the X-Men films. He's one of the best parts of that reboot/different version of the X-Men. Fassbender shows up and controls the screen with his performance. He isn't in it a lot but certainly makes an impression when he shows up. He's in it more than Novak.  Jacky Ido gives a good performance as Marcel. He doesn't really do a whole lot but he is a good partner to Melanie Laurent's character. His final moment where he is smoking the cigarette preparing to blow up the theater is by far his best moment. Til Schweiger gave a great performance as Hugo Stiglitz. His opening scene where Aldo Raine is telling one of the Germans how Hugo joined the Basterds is his best moment. It really solidifies him as one of the Basterds. Daniel Bruhl does a good job does a good playing as a war hero with an internal conflict. I only know Bruhl from Captain America: Civil War and I thought he did a good job at playing a character with internal conflict in that movie. His final moment where he unleashes his killer instincts is startling and ultimately leading me to hate Fredrick Zoller but love the way his character is written. The part he plays in the movie is genius. Diane Kruger gives a great performance as the undercover spy/movie star. She plays the part very well. Kruger's performance is something you have to see to understand. I end up not liking Bridget Von Hammersmark because she kills that new father for seemingly no reason. Melanie Laurent is one of the standout performances of the film for me. She's playing this hardened, tragic character whose family was killed by the Nazis in the opening scene, which is a fantastic opener by the way. Laurent plays the character very well. Her death scene is startling and well-executed. I never really saw it coming especially by Zoller's hand. The death scenes can be very brutal and shocking and Mimieux's death is no exception. Then there's perhaps the standout performance of the film, Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa. I had heard that Waltz gave an incredible performance in this movie and it's true. Waltz captures the screen with his performance. Waltz doesn't have a very strong or imposing body. Yet here, Waltz's performance makes him the most dangerous and menacing person in the room. That shows talent in Waltz's performance. He really is the standout performance of the film. Then we reach our lead Brad Pitt. This is my first real Brad Pitt performance. I say real performance because I originally saw Brad Pitt in Megamind which let's be honest, isn't a real performance. In Inglourious Basterds he's fantastic! Like Waltz, he has an air of menace around him. Unlike Waltz, however, Aldo has a likeability around him. When he's talking to Wilhelm he is cautious and calm. Aldo has a lot of great lines that my dad and I regularly quote now after seeing the film. Pitt may not be giving the most skillful performance but he is my favorite character and I think that has to do with the likeability of Brad Pitt. I do want to point out that this is a beautiful film full of great imagery and shots, but Tarintino is always good at that stuff. There are tons of scenes in Inglourious Basterds that I love but I will only point out a few. I already mentioned that the open scene is fantastic. It shows Waltz's menace and charm all in the same scene. It sets up the movie perfectly. I enjoy the scene where the Basterds were scalping the Nazis (which was really disgusting) and when we're introduced to "The Bear Jew" and while I don't care about that character, I do think he has an awesome opening. Pitt is also doing a great job. The scenes at the bar with the drunk Nazis playing the game was excellently executed. The scene is full of suspense and well-acted. Tarantino plays with the suspension of the scene expertly. Tarantino plays with the suspension to great effect in the scene where Landa and Mimieux first meet. Tarantino does flashbacks quite a bit in this movie and in this scene he flashbacks to the final shot of that opening scene where we see Mimieux run away from Landa. The tension is real in this scene, and of course, it's excellently acted by Waltz and Laurent. The climax is brilliantly executed with suspense, acting, and really is the icing on the cake, and this is one delicious cake, might I add. Let's break down this final scene because I think there's a lot here to talk about. Tarintino has built up to this moment spectacularly. The premiere of Nation's Pride looms large over the film. Once we reach the premiere the suspense has reached its max. There are two plans to blow up this theater, Shosanna Dreyfus's plan, using old film that easily burns and Lt. Aldo Raine's plan to pretty much send in suicide bombers and shoot up the place. You can see every situation where these plans go wrong and you're on the edge of your seat, wondering if either of these plans will work. I do want to point out the elephant in the room: Hitler's death. Martin Wuttke plays as the Adolf Hitler in this WWII story. It seems pretty obvious that Hitler would be there. What Tarintino does, however, really is shocking. If you're a history buff this isn't the film for you. Tarintino has always been a somewhat controversial director and you can see why in Inglourious Basterds. Tarintino straight up rewrites history and kills Adolf Hitler in a totally different way. I know some people don't like that, I honestly don't have a problem with this move Tarantino has made. It was such a bold, Tarantino move, I totally went with it and kind of loved it honestly. When Hitler is watching Nation's Pride and Fredrick Zoller is killing the Jews and laughing at it, you remember how much you hate Adolf Hitler. So when he dies, I was ready for it. The scene also looks fantastic. Quentin really wipes the slate clean of the main case in this final act, Lt. Aldo Raine being the only main character left alive at the end. I already mentioned Laurent's death which I thought was well executed. Diane Kruger gets taken out by Waltz in another great scene. I do want to point out there is some humor in some of these suspenseful scenes. Pitt has some moments where he shows some humor which I really enjoyed. Then we get our resolution to Waltz's character. Waltz captures Pitt and Novak and wants to bargain with them. I didn't really see that coming but it was fitting to Waltz's character. It shows his true colors as a slimy, pathetic, scoundrel. He had it coming and Raine finishes the movie off perfectly. I love how Tarantino finishes off the film. Raine carving in the Nazi symbol was perfect and I love it. It was set up and it is the perfect way to finish off the film. I can't express how much I love that ending. It's a perfect ending to a seemingly perfect film. 

Final Thoughts

        Inglourious Basterds is a fantastic work of art! Very strong performances, it's a beautiful looking film, great script, and great directing by Quentin Tarantino. He's a director I want to see more of, and Brad Pitt as well. He really is giving a strong performance as Lt. Aldo Raine. It's full of quotable lines that I will enjoy quoting in the future. This is obviously a strong recommendation. One of the best of the 2000s by far, top 10 at least. This may not be a film for everyone. Tarintino has a very unique style that may not be for everyone. If you're open to his style, go see this film. I love the more I think about it. It truly is a crazy, brilliant masterpiece. STONG RECOMMEND.

Inglourious Basterds Official Trailer