Inglourious Basterds review

"You have'nt seen war until you've seen it through the eyes of Quentin Tarantino" says the trailer. The film does not disappoint in this respect. Like the Coen Brothers he does have a highly unusual and individual style of directing that gives his films a unique visual and dramatic taste. With Inglourious Basterds don't expect a film like Platoon or Saving Private Ryan with a fixed moral about the horrors of war, its terrible destruction and tragedy and all the moral dilemmas it creates. I'm not saying that Tarantino is exploiting a terrible, and often fascinating, period of history to gain critical and commercial success - he is just expressing himself in his own unique way within the context of a war film. He does fully portray the brutality of war, often in graphic detail. Tarantino loves his violence and this film certainly earns its 18 certificate. The Inglourious Basterds are a group of Jews who are dropped into France with the simple goal of killing Nazi's and generally reigning destruction. The plot does not allow most of the group to really feature prominently in the film. This is okay, as just killing Nazi's (however appealing that sounds) for the whole film would get a bit boring after a while. Once the nature and intent of the Basterds has been established the plot goes in an interesting direction. Some of them become involved in a plot to kill Hitler and all of his high command. I don't think Tarantino is trying to rewrite history but he does offer us an alternative ending to the war, what could have happened if there really had been a group like The Basterds and if certain events had fallen into place. The cast are all excellent, except Mike Myers who is horribly miscast as an English general. Brad Pitt does well with his southern drawl and swagger, but it is Christopher Waltz (possible oscar contender?) who steals the show as the infamous 'Jew Hunter'. He sparkles as the Nazi officer who is in charge of rounding up all the hidden Jews in Nazi occupied France. On the surface he is charming and suave, almost playfully toying with his victims, and is completley at ease with what he is doing. Although this is not my favorite Tarantino film I certainly enjoyed it. I was going to rate this film 7/10 but on the strength of Christoph Waltz and Brad Pitt's performances, and the presence of the gorgeous Diane Kruger (marry me Diane!), I will add an extra point. Hopefully Inglourious Basterds marks a return to form for Tarantino. 8/10