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“You know what? This just might be my masterpiece.”

This phrase is uttered by Lt. Aldo Raine in Quentin Tarantino’s 7th film Inglourious Basterds, a remake/re-imagining of a 1978 film about a group of Jewish soldiers going into Nazi-occupied France to kill some Nazis. That little bit of what could be called a piece of self-indulgence on Tarantino’s part, is 100% correct. This is truly Quentin’s masterpiece.

"You know what? This just might be my masterpiece."

Once Upon A Time, in Nazi-occupied France, a group of soldiers notoriously called “The Basterds” are dropped into France to do one thing, and one thing only. Kill Nazis. After meeting with a double agent, they’re told that Hitler is attending the premiere of a movie, so the titular group stages a plan to take him, and a whole bunch of other high ranking German officers, out.

Meanwhile, intertwined with the Basterds’ story is that of a Jewish French girl named Shosanna, whose family was brutally murdered by “The Jew Hunter”, otherwise known as Col. Hans Landa. After a fateful meeting with a soldier-turned-movie star that leads to a film he’s in coming to the movie theater she owns, she forms a plan to burn it down, along with every high-ranking German officer in it. Sound familiar? It better be.

Naturally, all of this comes together in a blood-soaked climax.

If there’s one thing that Tarantino is known for, it’s dialogue. Those expecting a mile-a-minute action fest need to look elsewhere, because more words fly than bullets in this film. However, you’d be missing out on some truly wonderful scriptwriting. It is, in a word, brilliant. The scenes in this film are some of the best I’ve seen this year. Even if you have the most brilliant script, though, you’ll need top-notch actors to pull it off. Fortunately, the film delivering a cast where NO ONE is falling behind. Every role is perfectly played. Brad Pitt pulls off that tough, funny guy with a sort of John Wayne-ish attitude. Eli Roth, who most will know as the guy who makes the Hostel movies, is brilliant, and ends up being my favorite Basterd of the group. Every line of dialogue is pulled off with split-second timing. Roth proved he had acting chops in his brief role in Death Proof, and he shows it off again here. I look forward to more acting work from him.

Our third great performance is that of the gorgeous Melanie Laurent as Shosanna. Her role is practically top-billing work, as she gets almost more time than the Basterds themselves. Her story was tragic and compelling, and dare I say the only Oscar-worthy performance of the picture? No, that would be a lie, as the next guest is Christoph Waltz, as Hans Landa. This guy is hands-down one of the BEST VILLANS EVER. He is just flat-out evil, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. When ever he walks in the room, a collective gasp will fall in the theater, cause you just know: one wrong move, and some serious s*** will go down… HARD. I will risk exile from the film school community to say Hans Landa is a better film villain than The Joker. Stop sharpening your knives, because it won’t work here. Both these actor deserve a nomination; if not, I shall boycott the Oscars even more than I already have.

The pace and editing is what makes the movie the way it is. Every scene is handled with tender loving care, thanks to longtime Tarantino editor Sally Menke. You are on edge the entire time. Anything could happen at any moment. It grabs you by the throat from frame one and never lets go until the credits roll. It is here than the film works so well; Sally has done it again in the editing department. Two scenes in particular stand out the most. One at the very beginning, and a bar scene at about halfway through the picture. Both of these scenes are ticking time bombs, ready to explode at the first false move, and they do explode, gloriously. The fun is all in the suspense: when exactly are they going to explode!

In cinematography is beautiful, all of Tarantino’s signature moments are here. The 360-degree shots, the long takes, Dutch angles, it’s all here. It works in setting up the mood of the picture. The film also sports the classic tradition of having stock music. Quentin doesn’t normally put custom-orchestrated soundtracks in just for the movie, he takes things from previous films, and fits it in. One will notice music he used for Kill Bill in this film, and it works just as well. Many scenes evoke the style of other films; the opening scene feels straight out of a Sergio Leone picture, in terms of suspense and overall tension.

The film is also spectacularly violent. While never entering the cartoonish realm of Kill Bill Volume One, when the violence hits, it hits hard and fast. Gunshots, stabbings, and other forms of death make sure that its audience feels everything that happens to these characters. The climax at the movie theater, without spoiling anything, is utter chaos, and you’re left with the feeling of satisfaction once it ends.

So, over this…possibly over-praising review, the question looms; is there anything bad bout the movie? Well, to be honest, yes, there is. The film is too short! Yes, yes, you’re going to hear almost every critic complain that the film runs too long, but they can’t be more wrong. This film runs by extremely fast, especially if you’re involved with the entire proceedings. The cut shown at the Cannes Film Festivel ran about 15 minutes more; will we ever see that cut when it comes to DVD/Blu-Ray? God, I hope so.

So, what is there to say about this film that hasn’t already been said? Of the films I’ve seen so far this year, this one is the best. No bull, this film is everything I could’ve wanted and more. I walked in expecting a good Tarantino picture; what I got was what could be Tarantino’s best work since Kill Bill, which I previously considered to be his best film. This is a film I have every intention of seeing again, and again. Everything about the film hits the mark perfectly, and I recommend it highly. If you love Tarantino and his previous work, prepare for something very, very special.

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