Directed by Quentin Tarantino

After ten years in the making (or writing), Quentin Tarantino has finally brought to his audience his eagerly anticipated war epic. Still basking in the glory earned by his earlier films Reservoir Dogs (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994) and Jackie Brown (1997), he hit a somewhat rocky patch with his last efforts, Kill Bill (2003) and Death Proof (2007). Considering the 'over-the-top' referencing, slow and painfully boring dialogue, complete with uninteresting and unlike-able characters from these two, I wasn't the only Tarantino fan prepared for the worst. Was this to be a semi-fun, genre defying, yet exceedingly self indulgent movie that would best describe Kill Bill? Or would it carry on the B-movie, pastiche-failure that was the Grindhouse film Death Proof? What I was hoping was that it would be neither, but instead a return to the dialogue-driven crime fiction films that he was producing in the early 90s. What I wasn't expecting was a virtuoso piece of cinema which manages to blend most of the good themes of the director's previous work. In addition, I wasn't expecting a war film that could successfully work along these lines, creating the one of Tarantino's most successful efforts to date.

The film is set in Nazi-occupied France, and is split into a number of story lines which eventually evolve and interweave to become one. The movie begins with Colonel Hanz Lander, aka 'The Jew Hunter', played by an enigmatic Christoph Waltz. We meet the character in the middle of his mission which is to help the cause of the Third Reich in the disposal of the Jewish Race. The beautiful Mélanie Laurent plays the Jewish French girl Shosanna Dreyfus who, with Waltz on her trail, escapes the country for the city to lay low.

As with other films by the director, Inglourious Basterds is divided into chapters, giving it the structure of a novel. This allows for the break-up of narration to introduce multiple main characters and sub-plots without losing any feel of their significance to the overall narrative. In the chapter 'Inglourious Basterds,' we are introduced to a group of Jewish-American soldiers who go by that name. It's at this point that we are reminded that this is an American movie, crafted by American film makers, as we meet the most recognisable face of the film, Hollywood's finest, Brad Pitt. Pitt plays 'Aldo the Apache,' leader of the band of troops specifically recruited to seek revenge against the Nazis for their persecution of the Jews. They do this by infiltrating enemy lines, brutally killing Nazis and collecting their scalps, causing widespread panic amongst the German ranks.

The plots begin to merge when Shosanna, whom we later see running her own cinema, is chosen to host the première of Joseph Goebbel's war film Nation's Pride, thanks to the meddling of its star Private Zoller, played by Daniel Bruhl. (The Edukators, Goodbye Lenin!) Zoller has fallen for Dreyfus who has disguised herself as a French gentile. When the Fuhrer himself is confirmed to attend the première, plans to infiltrate the event bring together the main characters for a glorious climax. No pun intended.

The film marks a return to the director's greatest moments of cinematic work. Set pieces which make up the film draw all sorts of emotion from the viewer containing moments of extreme violence, intensity and great comedy. The most notable scene of the film is set in a German bar, containing German, American and English soldiers which gracefully takes its time setting the motions in place and then explodes into chaos. These particular set pieces are what make this film, and these wouldn't work without the introspective dialogue and fascinating characters that Tarantino's films are so loved for.

Not only have his latest films lacked these qualities, but they've also been deprived of quality execution in terms of acting. Thankfully much of the casting of Inglourious Basterds relies on European actors American and British audiences will not be familiar with. This only helps the film as unexpected quality in the form of Bruhl and Laurent shines through and gives the film an unrestrained and unpredictable feel. Particular merit has to go to Christoph Waltz' portrayal of Colonel Hanz Lander, whose his awe-inspiring fear and shattering wit completely steal the show. A respect for European cinema is also reflected in the style and referencing of the film by much of the trivial gimmickry that Tarantino is known for, such as in the replicated film posters in the cinema or even the characters names of which some are references to European cinema greats.

There are still moments of pastiche and parody with parts of the soundtrack containing spaghetti western scores from Ennio Morricone. The film also contains a Mexican stand-off which is another trademark of the director, and a slight alteration with the narration involving a voiceover of a Tarantino regular, Samuel L. Jackson, is one of many points in the film where the director likes to play with the audience. This helps add a postmodern self-consciousness which is applied to all the director's work, whether it works or not. In this case it does. It helps to serve as a reminder not to take things too seriously as this is cinema after all. Overall this is a bloody, self-conscious, self-indulgent, long winded (running at 2 and half hours long) mess. But what a mess. And I loved it! It's hard not to. It's thrilling, hilarious and intense. Anyone looking for a history lesson in World War II should probably avoid this. But if you're a fan of exhilarating, quality cinema, this is a must see and it's exactly what has been missing from cinema screens this summer.