Worst science fiction movie I have ever seen. Some brilliant acting. Over all....totally yuck.

This movie was freaking awesome

OMG.. are u serious... I guess i saved some money because I was really amped up to go see it!!

The film was fantastic, best this year. I enjoy dialogue over violence everytime. Well done to all, especially the bad guy and Brad. Directors never ever let someone shrink your art down to something people feel they dont have time for. Let them miss out and true fans appreciate you.

hated everything eli roth said in the film but he had only 2 lines. not really that big a distraction. and mike myers is just a fucking stupid miscast. there's no way anyone can take him seriously.

I stopped frequenting this site a while back because I started to disagree with about 90% of what was posted, starting with the review of The Wrestler, the most brilliant movie of 2008. I checked in today to see the Basterds review, a film I wasn't looking forward to because Death Proof I felt betrayed me as an audience member, but was pleasantly surprised with by it. I felt as though Tarantino's dialogue fit with the suspense of the film, and really reminded me of Sergio Leone's westerns, albeit quite a lot more talking, unlike Death Proof's unrelated rants about how the ladies are doing in the "dick" department. Having read John's review, I have to be honest here in saying that I don't think that his argument for not enjoying the film holds any water. Let's see his reasons: 1) Great bad guy This is very true, Waltz is a great "bad guy", playing the magnetic, charming and deadly Hans Landa. 2) Terrific performance by Christoph Waltz (Bad Guy) Yea, we got that from #1. 3) Solid Performance by Brad Pitt Very true. I've never seen the guy turn in a shit performance and here is no exception. 4) WAYYY too long (clocks over 2.5 hours) Basterds, to me, felt like it could have gone on for another hour or two and I would have been fine with that. The tapestry of characters and events set within the "fictional" world of Nazi-occupied France were endlessly interesting and worthy of the wordy-yet-important conversations and actions that take place. But, this is a matter of personal opinion, I think, and not in any way a judge of John's character or ability to write a good review. I just think that it's a stupid point to bring up when reviewing a film that the film is "too long". You may not agree with what the film was saying, or the way it was being said, hell you may even be sick of Tarantino's style, but the length of a film has nothing to do with the quality of it. Abbas Kiarostami's Taste Of Cherry is one of the most hauntingly beautiful films I've ever seen, clocking in at 95 minutes, while something like The Godfather clocks in right around 3 hours. Both films of quality, and both work for their respective time limits flawlessly. I do know of people who don't like The Godfather, but it certainly isn't because the film is "too long". That's the excuse of a novice audience member and should not be that of the creator of a major internet movie blog. 5) Trailers are all lies. There is no action in this film. All the action in the movie is in the trailer. As a matter of fact, some of the action in the trailer isn’t even in the movie. Seriously. I'm sorry, when has Tarantino ever made an action movie? And also, wouldn't you say that this film isn't actually about the action, rather the film is a study in the power of film in general (the division into chapters, the 35mm nitrate and the climax of the film happening in a movie theater, as well as endless references to film by characters in Basterds)? If you were there just for the action, then you really didn't know what you were getting into from the beginning. This film isn't an action movie, and it's not Tarantino's fault that the studio marketed it that way. All I'm saying on this one is that Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the closest Tarantino came to making an action movie, he's just not into that style, never has been. If anything, his movies could be seen as dumbed down mediations on the "less-is-more" theory in modern film. Granted, Michael Haneke does it much better (specifically Funny Games), but that argument could be made. 6) Overly long drawn out dialog scenes with apparently no point I'd like to know which scenes these were. Specifics here are important to giving an accurate and concise movie review if you ask me, because anyone could make that statement about any movie, theoretically, and without a real answer as to what that those scenes with "no point" are there is, in turn, no real opinion being given here. 7) ELI ROTH IS NOT AN ACTOR. Painful every time he had to talk in this movie. Eli Roth is not an actor I agree, but he was used sparingly enough that he didn't annoy the shit out of me in this one. I actually hate Eli Roth and the shitty movies he makes, in fact I was pissed that his role wasn't offered to Tim Roth, but in the end he played his part well as a supporting "character" in the film, nothing more. I personally didn't think he was that bad, but then again his Boston accent was pretty damn awful. This is just a poor movie review. It's fine to not like a film, but tell us why, don't just throw up some half-assed rant about how you think you were robbed of your $10.50, because that essentially sounds like what this is.

Loved everything about this movie except for Mike Myers. Granted, I expected much more action but I was pleasantly surprised by the lack thereof. The dialogue was great and I thought if not pertinent to the driving force of the plot, added to the film. Not everything has to forward the plot in some way. Great, great, great movie.

Agree with the main points except for brad pitt, I thought his character was just poorly written just because it was brad pitt. It just seemed like a watered down version of his burn after reading performance. I did find the violence a bit much and I've seen a good few takeshi miike movies so I'm not squeamish. It was very real in a way but did they have do so much. Tarentino already did the ear scene in reservoir dogs so he didn't have to prove anything. Maybe I was a bit disturbed by people's reaction to it. Eh... The one thing I was surprised about and happily surprised for once was that tarantino actually made the nazi's seem like real people, which isn't even done in the german movies (downfall).

Did John even see the same film I did I saw lost of action it was all in the third act and it was bad ass.

Wow i Just saw this film for the second time. Its amazing. And i think Eli Roth can act. This guy gets it http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/887-Inglourious-Basterds

bear jew !!

I'm really surprised you didn't like it! I thought the dialogue, while lengthy, was great because it was an effective way to keep the tension up throughout the movie, particularly in the beginning scene and (without giving anything away) the tavern later on. Eli Roth didn't really bug me, and I actually thought that Mike Myers probably had the weakest performance in the movie. I didn't pay too much attention to the trailers, and I wasn't really expecting TOO much on the action side since I think he already kinda did that with Kill Bill (the first one anyway). Ah well, sorry you didn't like it!

Once again, I agree with you 95 percent. The opening scenes were awesome. It does drag when he get's to those overwritten scenes. He pulls too far away from keeping the story moving. But, Quentin is such a good filmaker I never got bored. I was able to enjoy every one of those scenes. The movie was good but it wasn't as good as the trailer suggested. Still, a must see film, filled with Tarantinoesque situations. I could do without the projector still running during the fire.

I am really sad for you. I saw a brilliant film. Not Tarantinos best, but still very good. I'm sorry you didn't get the joy out of it that I had. I felt all the dialogue was crucial, it set the mood so wonderfully. That is what Tarantino does best. When other directors will skim over things in a rushed pace, he stops and lets you really look at what is going on. That way, when the violence does hit, it hits with so much more force because you are somehow more invested in what happens to all these characters. The basement bar scene the best example of this. That has to be one of my favorite scenes in any movie the last 15 years.

4 reasons this is one of QT's top 3: 1. Dialogue had more direction and created more suspense than any other QT film to date. I thought that everything after Jackie Brown had unending random talk that took away from the story and characters whereas Jackie Brown and prior, the point of the movies was the dialogue. After Jackie Brown because his style was so imitated it no longer carried the weight of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown. Remember that when those films came out it was at a time when all movies were completely plot driven and story driven. The 80s made great action movies but they were no longer about character or about dissecting what films were. His films were a breath of fresh air. They were films that were self aware that this was the movies and he was subverting genre expectations. The dialogue was used brilliantly to create tension in each scene. Playful and dangerous at the same time. He stayed in each scene longer than you expected to build tension. 2. To the point that there is no action in the movie. I think that that is one of the biggest pluses of the movie.This is a suspense film and just because this movie doesn't show 1000 nazi's being scalped doesn't make it a bad movie. Say that they had made the movie with the Inglorious Basterds as the main characters and turned this into an action movie. It would have been a B movie with great action scenes and easily forgotten like the original inglorious bastards. There is nothing wrong with it being an action movie, but that's not the point to this movie. Blame the faulty advertising but this movie is more of a tribute to the old spy movies. Check out movies like Army of Darkness, The spy who came in from the cold, Nazi Hunter B movies. QT is a better director than that, he has the heart of the movie be about the Shoshana and the theater which really works honestly. It is probably the most sensitive QT has ever made a character. The Basterds are better in a secondary role along with Hans Landa because they give the film the background players to the main story line. They are better in snapshots and more effective. 3. The characters were well developed and entertaining each in their own right. 4. Hans Landa played by Christoph Waltz and Aldo Raine played by Brad Pitt. A lot of the performances were great but these were perfect.

Are you kidding I thought Eli Roth's character was on of the highlights!

John, I'm interested in what Taratino films you like? You've written that you don't like Pulp Fiction, Death Proof, and now Inglorious Basterds. So I was wondering if he is such a genius as you stated, then what films of Taratino's would you consider genius?

I really, really, really liked this movie, and I would probably go as far as to say this is on my top ten of the year list already. My favorite aspect of the entire film, the dialogue and the amazing techniques used to build tension to those "breaking points" or action scenes, was stuff of cinema gold. Oh, and points again for the villain, Hans made that damn film.

Great flick. I thought the length was perfect - i never once yawned or checked my watch. The tension of those scenes, where violence is balanced on a knife edge, makes the time fly. But, this review I found covers some issues that noone here seems to be talking about - can you set a movie in nazi germany, and then ignore the morality of that scenario? http://thomasthethinkengine.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/inglourious-basterds-a-review/

Tarrantino once said that "Great artists steal. They don't do homages". Inglourious Basterds is proof of that. So much of this film was stolen/inspired from other movies that he no doubt loved while working as a clerk in the video store. Even the soundtrack to the film was music cues from other films. Is this such a bad thing? I'd rather my nephew go and see this, and get inspired to spend his money on something like a DVD of "Once Upon A Time in the West" than go and spend it on the stain on the screen that was Transformers 2. Yes, Basterds was long. Yes, the marketing painted a tease of the film that was so far off the mark from the finished product. But I found the entire thing completly compelling and I wouldn't have wanted him to make it any other way.

Wow, I was totally the opposite when it came to the initial scene and the bar scene that you mentioned. I was just waiting for both of these scenes to turn bad. For me Tarantino took a page out of Hitchcock for how to build tension. When you finally get to the payoff from the bar scene (and I mean the final payoff not the initial one) it is so totally earned.

As usual, I heartily disagree with John. This is the best movie of the summer, it is as good as QT's best, Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. It isn't an action movie, but then none of his movies are action movies. They are character pieces about interesting people who are usually caricatures. It is an engaging and fun ride, that didn't remotely feel like it was 2.5 hours long. The story was a coherent, enthralling, and fun ride. As John always says, "film is subjective", and I personally adored Inglorious Basterds.

@ Ouija Yes, I did get that. I was simply explaining to the folks who hadn't seen it what to expect. I "got it".

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I'll agree with you on one point - Eli Roth is not an actor and was pretty horrible, but he's not in the movie much, so I wasn't completely turned off. I already knew to expect a lot of dialog (it is Tarantino), and less action, but the action that is present is intense and effective. I preferred the balance and glad there wasn't more. Christoph Waltz is brilliant in his role and deserves an Oscar nomination. The rest of the cast was wonderful, so big props to Tarantino and his casting crew. I'm not a huge Pitt fan, but this was a good role for him and I enjoyed him even with his horrible accent.

Basterds was a great movie. So was District 9. And John, what's up with the negative reviews latley? Btw what did u think about the Hurt locker? Give me something positive on that at least cause it was amazing !!

Haven't seen it myself, but will soon. Thanks for the heads up about the "lack" of action. As you said, after watching the trailer you'd expect lots of action etc ... Great review. So much passion.

Watch it again John!!!

Watching your review here, I gotta make a quick note, John. This movie is self indulgent - totally agreed. From the non-stop talking of actresses and movie directors and such, it's very "Let's talk about what I want!". And there is a LOT of dialogue that is spoken in German that a) is never subtitled and you have to figure out what's going on. That said...it didn't really bother me. Still loved it. Much better movie than Death Proof.

Just got back from the theater with a friend. We loved it. The audience loved it. Everyone had fun with the movie. Yes, the dialogue is tedious and slow and sometimes mind-numbing. However, I was NOT as bored or annoyed with it as I was with Death Proof. This is definitely a talking heads movie. Most of the movie is literally people sitting around tables and talking. If you're expecting action...you're going to get a handful of really cool, stomach cringing action. But that's it. This movie is NOT for people with little attention span. I gotta say...the final climax? The theater scene - CREEPY. Especially watching it in a theater. Watch it and see what I mean. Honestly, this movie didn't even feel like a QT movie to me. It was shot differently and had different dialogue than what we're used to. The length did not bother me (I got my money's worth!) and I thought the ending was awesome...(very Death Proof-ish). I wouldn't mind seeing this again soon.

I absolutely loved it, and so did the rest of the audience, it seemed. To put it simply, the dialogue was heated and clever, the performances superb all around (especially Christoph Waltz), and the song choices - as in any Tarantino film - very effective. For me to give a film a perfect score is rare enough as it is, but this is the first time I’ve given one to two films in a row (having seen District 9 last weekend). It’s been a damn good year for films so far, with Coraline, Up, and the aforementioned District 9 ranking somewhere in my all-time Top 15. And while I’ll have to see it a few more times to say for sure, Inglourious Basterds is perhaps my fifth favorite movie of all time. Aside from last year’s Bolt, never has a movie surpassed my expectations by such a great amount.

John...I respect your opinion on Inglorious Basterds, as film apreciation is subjective, but you should see this movie one more time. On your second viewing, perhaps pay more attention to the dialogue, which in my opinion was brilliant, mixing tension and humor. I understand that here in America moviegoers are lazy to read subtittles, but hey, QT was smart about keeping dialogues in the respective character's language. It would have been stupid to have all those Nazi dudes speak english among themselves. Agreed, Christoph Waltz deserves a best supporting actor Golden Globe award and an Oscar for his role as Hans Landa. Brad Pitt isfunny as hell as the redneck Aldo Reine, And Melanie Laurent as Shoshanna Dreyfuss was awsome too. I did wish Adam Sandler had chosen to do "The Jew Bear"...it would have made the climax of the movie be one of the most satisfying images for any Jewish person to ever see on film. This movie has an ACTION PACKED kick ass climax which was will built, and even though I am not Jewish, what I saw still has me smiling joyfully, wishing it would have happened for real. To me, Inglorious Basterds, Public Enemies, District 9, Moon, and The Hangover were the best films of the summer. John...do yourself a favor and take a second look at this film. This is QT's best film since Pulp Fiction. The script is linear, yet very original and very well structured, the dialogue is hillarious and tense. The few action scenes have been the best QT has done so far(usually action scenes in QT's films are kind of clumsy, even in Kill Bill V1 & V2...but here they are done in a Brian DePalma manner of quick brutality). Also, Hans Landa is enough reason to watch this film again. John...Take a second look at Inglorious Basterds.

I feel like you're losing your touch. I used to agree with you quite a lot, but lately we haven't been. I'm not sure what's changed. Anyways, a couple of things: 1. The Trailer - You're right, it is a misleading trailer. Most of the action in the movie was in the trailer. This was obviously smart marketing to get American audiences to go out and see it. However, with you and I both being movie buffs, I'm surprised you didn't look up information regarding this movie after Cannes and at least come to understand that it wasn't going to be another Kill Bill vol. 1. 2. I loved every scene. Every scene was so intense because of all the subtext, what was goin on under the dialogue. For example, when Hans runs into Soshanna (aka Emmanuelle) at the restaurant and offers her milk. The bar scene was fantastic. Yes, at first most of the dialogue seems a bit pointless, but it always comes around full circle. For example, the guy who was the new father. Seems pointless to know that, but it came around for two reasons: 1) it was a way for the Basterds to get Bridget von Hammersmark out of there safely (by convincing him he'll live if he lets her go), and 2) it lead to Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) to find the note she wrote to the newborn, which gave away Bridget's cover. 3. Eli Roth - he's barely in the movie. And what little he had was really not bad at all. I'm not sure why this irked you so much. The "home run" gag was twistedly funny, and most of his other, short, lines were funny. He seemed to be a comic relief. (It should be noted that this role was originally intended for Adam Sandler, who couldn't do it due to Funny People - which I also liked). 4. Mike Myers - You said he was so bad, but don't say why. Why was Mike Myers so bad? I loved that scene. The performances were so, so good. It was just a joy to sit there and watch them. This goes for every scene (for me). 5. Tarantino does NOT edit his films! Every single movie of his ever since Reservoir Dogs has been edited by Sally Menke - a woman. I'm surprised you don't know this. Since your expectations were misplaced, I suggest you watch it again with as open a mind as possible. You loved District 9 and Cloverfield when you first saw them, but after you saw them a second time your opinions of them lowered. Perhaps your opinion will change in a more positive direction upon a second viewing. Sally Menke

To be honest, i actually enjoyed the fact that it was NOT the action film that was "promised" by the trailer. I really enjoyed the "slower" scenes, especially the scene in the bar that you mentioned, that scene, along with the opening of Basterds might make it into my Top 5 list of favorite Tarantino moments. I agree that the movie could have been a little shorter, but 90 minutes? no way! Basterds is already my favorite Tarantino movie after Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, but then again, you can`t really compare these three movies because they are totally different, i enjoyed Basterds a lot more than Kill Bill though.

John is the movie as slow and as boring as "Death Proof" because that movie was ahrd to watch.

loved the movie but it was way to long. i agree with john about the bar scene. what was the point? didn't really care about the romance between the black dude and the jewish chick and the movie was really inaccurate. besides that it was awesome.

if you feel betrayed by the trailer, than you should check out this article, http://www.cracked.com/article_17585_5-things-movie-trailers-need-stop-doing.html

I have to disagree strongly, this film was stunning, easily my favourite film of the summer. I go to the cinema nearly every week and its the first film since Return Of The King i've been to which got a round of applause at the end (UK here, we are quite reserved) I agree that it really isnt what the marketing men have positioned it as but never the less it was hugely enjoyable, i had a huge smile on my face throughout the long scenes of dialogue. Considering all the disappointments this summer im hugely thankful for this gem!

Just saw it now. I loved it. Thought it was a masterpiece. First Tarintino film I have seen.

At our country we get the movie unrated, all the blood and gore will be seeing. Not that bullshit about leaving some scenes away because they are too hard.

Told in your unique, but agreed completely!

never watch your video reviews, no interest in them but based on your comments typed I actually agree with you for once.

Just watched it tonight and I thought it was great. I also loved both the bad guy and Brad Pitt. I thought the story line for the Nazi women was fantastic. And thought the few action scenes in the movie were also fantastic. I would give it a 4.5/5. I think people should know that about 50% of this movie is subtitled.