Faded Glories-Inglorious Basterds

To start with, I generally hate Quentin Tarantino. While I applaud his skill as a filmmaker, and I enjoy a violent movie as much as the next bloke, I find his glorifying of the scum of society somewhat (and by somewhat, I mean very) annoying. I enjoyed Pulp Fiction as a movie, but disliked its themes. So when I heard that Tarantino was making a World War II movie, I was not a little apprehensive. When I heard it involved Hitler, my prophetic prediction was "He's gonna kill Hitler, isn't he?" Well, as I'm sure everyone knows now, he did. Inglorious Basterds stands as a well-done movie, and a great Tarantino film, but it still has some issues.

To start on a positive note, the caliber of the acting was superb. Even Brad Pitt (whose performances I have loathed for years) more than impresses with his drawling on about "Natsees." Christoph Walt's role as a Nazi Colonel is absolutely astonishing, as he plays an almost (and sometimes definitely) comically evil villain in such a fashion as to make the role bone-chilling. Not one role was badly cast, and each and every scene was brilliantly executed.

The story, alas, is less original. I have never thought Tarantino possessed much skill as a story teller, never have, never will. "Basterds" gives me absolutely no reason to change this belief. The plot can best be described as "Guns of Navarone" meets "Valkyrie"-infiltrate Germany, kill Hitler. Now, there are some interesting twists, such as Lt. Aldo Raine's (Brad Pitt) demand for the scalping of Nazis, or the Jewish girl escaping the Nazis and years later planning their downfall, but as a whole, I knew the whole time what was going to happen. I even guessed the famed "secret ending" before it was confirmed: I knew they'd kill Hitler. It was Tarantino, and that was the best "twist" he could pull. It was the only "original" part of the movie, and it was predictable.

Another downside of the movie was that it contained nothing thought-provoking. Valkyrie, the only Tom Cruise movie I like (Tropic Thunder is not a Tom Cruise movie) was thought provoking, as it showed a side of the Germans that many (including every single member of the Jewish side of my family save my Dad) deny could even be possible. Defiance (with Daniel Craig) was also thought provoking-what would you do in the Bielski's position? Downfall (A German movie on the last days in the Fuhrerbunker that I think is a must watch) was truly thought provoking as it showed the firsthand accounts of the true evil that was Hitler and his Reich, and how that evil lasted up to very end. Basterds has not a shred of a thought-provoking theme. This is the downfall of Tarantino-he doesn't like to make you think, he would sooner rely on violence. Which is fine, if you're in the mood for blood (And I ALWAYS love watching Nazis get killed. Bastards.) but not if you want anything more.

The final downfall I saw to the movie was it's lack of emotional attachment. In "Boondock Saints II" when the father dies, you feel something. In "The Punisher," you feel it when his family are murdered in front of him. I like movies where I connect with the characters, and I think it can be done in action flicks. Do I expect to be as emotionally moved by an action film as by a drama? No. Do I still expect some connection with the characters? Yes. I felt cheated, therefore, by Basterd's lack of any empathetic character. Aldo Raine is hysterical to watch (I was dying when I him speak Italian believing "Germans are bad with Italian accents) but difficult to empathize with. Yes, I absolutely love that he kills Nazis and scars the survivors, but there is a difference between approval and empathy. The one character that I feel the audience definitely should have empathized with was Shoshanna Dreyfuss. The character had every trait that could lead one to empathize with a character, but somehow, we don't. We sympathize, yes, and we want her to succeed, but when she is shot, neither I or any of my friends who watched it with me felt anything. It was just "She's dead. That blows." I WANTED to empathize with Shoshanna, but the character's emotional deadness just ended irritating the hell out of me. When Hannibal Lecter is more of an empathetic character than you, there is a problem.

All in all, the movie was a fun watch, and I'd definitely see it again. However, I would not classify it as anything but a fun movie, and think that Basterds must bow to Valkyrie, Downfall, and Defiance as the much better war movies, and Basterds must simply rest as an action movie.

*** out of ***** (With apologies to Chris Boyajian, I'm using your star thing now :P)