No joke – I believe this film to be Tarantino's best yet. The movie has its naysayers, but I see this as the epitome of movie-making: a literate, intelligent film, beautifully shot from an excellent and original script. You might be forgiven for thinking that little more needs to be said about the Second World War, but you'd be wrong, as this outing shows: it's as fresh as a field full of daffodils in the springtime. I knew I was in for some fun with the opening sequence, in which spaghetti western style music riffs on an old classical piece and builds up the tension as Nazi officer arrives to question a remote French farmer.
From then on in, we're involved in a film which uses long scenes of dialogue and character interaction as a way to build the utmost suspense. Suspense plays a big part in this film's effectiveness, and nowhere else is it better than in the basement bar sequence around halfway through: this 20-minute segment is one of my favourite scenes in a film, where great direction, scripting, and acting all combine to make a masterful moment. The cast is excellent: Brad Pitt and Eli Roth headline the titular squad of soldiers, on hand to lend some much needed humour (usually of the pitch-black variety) to the film, while Diane Kruger shows how much she's matured as an actress by playing a double agent. Michael Fassbender reminds us why he's a rising star with his turn as British officer Archie Hickox, and even a cameoing Mike Myers doesn't ruin things. Only Tarantino would cast the long-forgotten Rod Taylor as Churchill, but it's a move that pays off.
In the end, though, it's the unknown European actors who really make this work. Christoph Waltz deserves his Oscar as the impeccably mannered Nazi officer, an utterly horrifying creation; Melanie Laurent delights by providing the movie's emotional core. And the little turns, from Til Schweiger's psychotically vengeful German soldier to August Diehl's slimy SS officer, are also perfectly judged. Throw in some snippets of outrageous violence to break the tension, add in a bravura climax that, for once, doesn't let the viewer down, and you have a film that's quickly become a new favourite of mine.
From then on in, we're involved in a film which uses long scenes of dialogue and character interaction as a way to build the utmost suspense. Suspense plays a big part in this film's effectiveness, and nowhere else is it better than in the basement bar sequence around halfway through: this 20-minute segment is one of my favourite scenes in a film, where great direction, scripting, and acting all combine to make a masterful moment. The cast is excellent: Brad Pitt and Eli Roth headline the titular squad of soldiers, on hand to lend some much needed humour (usually of the pitch-black variety) to the film, while Diane Kruger shows how much she's matured as an actress by playing a double agent. Michael Fassbender reminds us why he's a rising star with his turn as British officer Archie Hickox, and even a cameoing Mike Myers doesn't ruin things. Only Tarantino would cast the long-forgotten Rod Taylor as Churchill, but it's a move that pays off.
In the end, though, it's the unknown European actors who really make this work. Christoph Waltz deserves his Oscar as the impeccably mannered Nazi officer, an utterly horrifying creation; Melanie Laurent delights by providing the movie's emotional core. And the little turns, from Til Schweiger's psychotically vengeful German soldier to August Diehl's slimy SS officer, are also perfectly judged. Throw in some snippets of outrageous violence to break the tension, add in a bravura climax that, for once, doesn't let the viewer down, and you have a film that's quickly become a new favourite of mine.