Did anyone else not like Inglorious Bastards

[SEPECAT]

Still haven't seen it and have no desire to, and I love Tarantino's other movies. My brother saw this one and told me to ignore it (This was after I formulated my opinion of not caring about the movie). A few days later he saw Pulp Fiction for the first time and after wiping the drool off of his shirt he had his girl over and watched it a second time. I guess there's just something kinda different about this one.

Although I hear a bit of scorn for Death Proof too, which I enjoyed despite its disgusting ratio of characterization dialogue to action.

 

[electric_warrior]

I thought it was a series of good scenes with little sense of an actual story, little character development and a stupid ending. It was all flash and no bang, just like most Tarantino films.

 

[enzilewulf]

TLR

I liked the part in the pub.....but that movies was bad for me just because I thought the whole theater part was stupid.

 

[Syphous]

I think a lot of this dislike is coming from the movies poor marketing. In that they made it out to be something it wasn't. It looked like a stylized war movie, kind of an action mash-up of Saving Private Ryan meets Grindhouse, and it was certainly not that.

Personally I loved this movie, it was all about film and the power that cinema can wield. Plus who could have guessed that ending?! That was amazing.

 

[Fiad]

I liked it, but just barely. It seemed to drag on way too long. Especially the part where the Bear Jew is introduced. I mean that had to be at least 7 or so minutes of flashing between the nazi and the door. The movie would have been much better if they shortened it some.

 

[SilentCom]

I didn't like it. Especially at the end when they killed Hitler. It just came out of nowhere and completely killed history.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

1. Stupidity: What I mean is by how all the characters seem to act extremely dumb. Like when the Bastards were going to blow up the cinema. After the Lt. was captured the Bear Jew and the other bastard killed two guards and killed Hitler, now instead of trying to get out of the cinema while it was burning, they stand their and shoot into the crowd WHILE THEY HAVE BOMBS STRAPPED TO THEIR ANKLES. I mean, did they just forget about the bombs? To me this was the thing that disconnected me from the movie. But another stupid thing, all save for my next complaint.

That was kinda the point. They didn't care one bit about their lives, they were just dedicated to killing as many Nazis as possible. They got joy out of it. It was whom they had become.

Notice why they went up to kill Hitler personally instead of just waiting for the bombs to explode. They were brainwashed.

2. The basement scene: The entire time they were in the basement tavern. I felt that it went on for to long and I hated how the whole thing was handled. All start from the top. They try to show us that the Nazis, or just regular Germans, have a human side. Why? This is supposed to be a revenge flick? Why are we not seeing Gestapo or SS being horribly murdered? Why do I have to see Werchmant soldiers, the actual regular joes be graphically killed. Also, why did the Why was the German bastard so dumb, instead of going for a kill shot on the Major, he shot him in the balls. Instead of trying to shoot some else while the British spy shot him, he just shots him in the balls! Wilhem, poor, poor Wilhem. That really pulled me out of it, and made me hate that German Actress character. And you really had to screw drive in that he was a loving husband and father just before killing him uselessly.

Because he wanted the German gestapo officer to be as humiliated as possible in his death.

Plus, it's a sick twist. They take no prisoners if they are behind the Nazi flag. I don't think you understood how their mindset was. The Basterds were the German's Boogeymen. They weren't the good guys, they were the bad guys to the Nazi's. They were suppose to be evil in a good way.

3. If they are going after Nazis, why are they killing Germans: It seems like the movie wanted to show how evil the Nazis were and how they should be treated. Ok, but why were the Bastards going after Werchmant instead of say, the SS and Gestapo. But then it has the gall, to show the human side of the Germans. This made me angry, I don't want to think that rational human beinsg who only fight to defend their country could be a part or stand bye the Nazi Party.

See above. They were created so the Nazis would fear them. Maybe you missed that speech Brad Pitt gave toward the beginning of the movie. By showing the German's human side, they were showing just how vicious the Basterds were.

4. Horrible Music Ques: Exactly what it says on the tin.

Not sure what this means, but Tarintino make films that are mocking 70s Spaghetti Westerns. The music is the same thing played in those movies. It's part of his charm a a director. He adds a rather dark and demented tale to otherwise cheery and ironic music.

5. It needs a good editor: I haven't seen such a long movie in a long time. I feel that it should have really been cut down like the Lord of the Rings movies, just imagine if they didn't cut that stuff out that was put on extended edition. It would be three hours long, almost as long as this movie. The run time is two hours and thirty minutes, good god. I thought Full Metal Jacket was long. All the scenes just really kept going without getting anywhere. It was so bad the only character I liked was Landa, the jew hunter! The only character I ended up liking, was the bad guy. Wow, I don't know what to say about that.

So does anyone agree with me on these notes and/or dislike the movie for these reasons.

He actually cut out about 45 minutes of that movie to make it that short. I think you said you liked Pulp Fiction?

Tarintino makes his movies extremely dialogue heavy, so the characters are extremely developed right before they die. They have long conversations with each other right before they blast each other away, just so it feels more closer to home when they die. You find yourself caring for the bad guys on without realizing it.

 

[Princess Rose]

**snip**

1) Because it was a suicide mission. They never planned to escape. During that scene, they are clearly aware of the bombs (they are sweating, looking nervous, waiting...) but they've also clearly chosen to spend their time shooting people rather than escaping. This tells me that they walked in there planning to die.

If you don't think that was the best possible plan, you're right - I happen to agree with you on that one. I have no idea why they decided to make that a suicide mission. But that isn't stupidity. Insanity, perhaps. They are clearly aware that they are committing suicide.

2) People above have summed this one up. If I had a complaint, it's that the other German soldiers were so quick to find their guns when they were clearly drunk as hell earlier in the scene. Seems like the Bastards should have had an easier time of it (and fewer fatalities). But that's a minor nitpick at best.

3) Because the Germans were occupying France. War is hell and all that.

4) Your Mileage May Vary.

5) Were you aware that Kill Bill was originally filmed as one movie? The whole "part 1" and "part 2" thing was done after the fact, because the film was over 5 hours long. Compared to that, IB was actually pretty short.

 

[Nightrunex]

I disliked the movie as well, simply for its poor taste in general. Dialogue stretched on too long, and there were perhaps 15 minutes of action in the entire movie. The whole commando group just didn't fit into World War II, at all.

 

[Gaiseric]

I liked the Nazi guy in the beginning and didn't care for the rest.

edit: I don't like Tanantino much anymore anyway.

 

[EPolleys]

Yeah I disliked it for pretty much the same reasons you did, I don't really mind a lot of dialogue in a long film but most of the dialogue in the movie had little to nothing to do with the plot. I estimate off the top of my head about 80% of actions taken by the characters had absolutely no effect on the conclusion.

 

[Totenkopf]

And no offence, but while you may not like to think it, plenty of people did. Not everyone in Germany was a Nazi, and Tarantino even points that out in the film's dialogue. But Hitler would not have gotten anywhere without substantial support from the German public, and while that may not make for comforting thoughts, it's worth remembering. People weren't fighting to defend their country, at least not at the start. They were fighting because Hitler led them to war. I think it's also worth remembering the millions of Polish, French and Hungarian civilians and soldiers who dies because of Germany's unprovoked attacks. Do I bear current Germans any ill will because of this? Of course not. But it's worth remembering just how far the German population of the 30s and 40s were willing to support Hitler and his policies.

Strongly advised / requested: Read one to #many decent history book/s about the second World War and reconsider your opinion.
Thanks for your time.
___________________________________________________
OT: Personally, I really liked the movie. It actually tries to give an semi-realistic character-impressions ("Bravery", "Our heroes and liberators, ladies and gentlemen! War criminals!") while staying funny / entertaining and emotionally gripping.
Also, Waltz. He pretty much carried the entire movie on his role as Standartenführer Hans Landa.
The movie is worth watching simply for seeing his performance. But it's generally an experience very worthy of witnessing.

 

[Vigormortis]

I hated it for the same reason I've hated most of Tarantino's recent films. I can't stand Tarantino. Not anymore. I used to like his films. I really did. But now? Now, he's like Robert Rodriguez, except he's taken a little longer to start making shitty films. He's arrogant and quite frankly, not that great of a director anymore. (and an even worse writer. good God I hate his writing) Doesn't help he feels compelled to place himself in bigger and bigger roles in his own films. Roles he ruins with his complete inability to act or emote.

Yet die-hard fans of his, of whom I used to be a part of, who loved his early work are unbelievably lenient towards his latest outings. Praising stuff that, had he put it out in his earlier years, they would otherwise revile.

Hell, I've seen self-proclaimed film fans bash one director over something that Tarantino does himself. For example, berating one director for mimicking a scene from another film as an homage, only to then turn around and praise Tarantino for doing the same. Except that Tarantino usually goes and blatantly coping scenes (even word for word) from several films.

I can honestly say I plan to avoid every single film he makes from this point on. At least until he gets off his high horse.

 

[Wrath 228]

The reason he gave the Germans a human side, then have them all get brutally gunned down, was to show that atrocities and cold-blooded killings are perpetrated by both sides in a conflict, no matter who is generally viewed as the "good" and "bad" guys. I think we can all agree that the Axis were the aggressors and thus the "bad guys" of the war, but war is war. People die, often in terrible ways. These people have families and lives they want to carry out.

 

[Quantom Quak]

I actually just had this conversation today, and my friends and I concurred on this:
This needed to get made. No other movie is exactly like this, and it had to happen.
It covers both ends of the spectrum: drama and action, with a dash of comedy. It was good.

 

[Hollock]

I thought the woman who ran the theatre and the German war hero were the best parts, and I loved the whole movie

 

[uzo]

I think a fair few people are just butthurt here that rampant fiction has been applied to WWII. Did you enjoy Captain America? Or Wolfenstein 3D? Or did you whine and ***** that 'Hitler didn't have a robotic exoskeleton with twin miniguns' then too?

Look, the film is an instant classic, and whatever you guys think, when Tarantino wanders off this mortal coil, he ain't gonna be remembered for Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, nor Grindhouse nonsense.

He will be remembered for Inglorious Basterds (you spelt the film title incorrectly). This is Tarantino's Citizen Kane.

It is a wickedly well written script, far beyond the level of the general public. Remember the SS and the farmer, at the beginning? I saw it in Japan so the scenes in French and/or German and/or Italian, I had to read the Japanese subtitles, so I thought I'd made a mistake - the SS officer had said something about the farmer being famous for having lovely cows, and he and his men wanted to come and visit the cows or something.

I thought "huh? what's that got to do with anything?" ... it wasn't until I was reading about the film later that - apparently, and I don't speak French so I can't verify this - the French word for 'cow' is also the vulgar French word for a particular part of the female anatomy. You see, the SS officer was switching languages and making thinly veiled threats in those different languages - languages that a non-native speaker of French will miss. I missed it of course, and, forgive me for being presumptuous, but my guess is you don't speak French either. THAT's the real kicker in this film. There's shit you don't see, or even understand, but Tarantino has slipped it in there and for once he doesn't rub it in your face saying 'see how clever I am ?!?!'.

Tarantino is pretentious at the best of times, and offensively arrogant at the worst of times, but the fact is that this film excellently demonstrated his ability.

PS I think there was an intended irony - Jews suicide bombing an oppressor ... no? Don't get it? Think harder.

 

[FaceFaceFace]

i didnt mind the film as a whole, but the one bit that annoyed me, when the chunky geezer with the baseball bat cracks the german who doesnt flinch or anyting and when he asks "whether he gets it for killing jews?" he says "bravery", but gets battered anyway. made me think that he was a **** for the rest of the film.

so in the end i was morally neutral between the germans and the jews, favouring neither, probably not what your meant to end up feeling at the end of the movie

That's exactly what you were supposed to feel.

They try to show us that the Nazis, or just regular Germans, have a human side. Why? This is supposed to be a revenge flick? Why are we not seeing Gestapo or SS being horribly murdered? Why do I have to see Werchmant soldiers, the actual regular joes be graphically killed...

If they are going after Nazis, why are they killing Germans: It seems like the movie wanted to show how evil the Nazis were and how they should be treated. Ok, but why were the Bastards going after Werchmant instead of say, the SS and Gestapo. But then it has the gall, to show the human side of the Germans. This made me angry, I don't want to think that rational human beinsg who only fight to defend their country could be a part or stand bye the Nazi Party...

It was so bad the only character I liked was Landa, the jew hunter! The only character I ended up liking, was the bad guy. Wow, I don't know what to say about that.

Have you guys never heard of gray morality? That's like, the whole point of the film. It wasn't "supposed" to portray the Nazis and Germans as evil, nor was it just "supposed" to be a mindless Nazi-killing fest. The advertising was misleading (though almost certainly on purpose to trick people into seeing what was actually a very plot heavy movie). The movie is reminding you that those Nazis that movies have trained you to see as generic evil villains, they were humans too, their soldiers were just fighting for their country like ours, and that typical American fantasies of slaughtering them aren't justified.

In the end, the American characters are dumb jerks, and the Jew Hunter is the most charismatic and likable character. And that was totally the point.

 

[WayOutThere]

Inglorious Bastards is an expertly crafted movie that once again proves what a marvelous director Quentin Tarantino is. But I didn't like it. I almost feel as if I should be apologizing for not liking it as the quality is plain as day. Even so I was somehow still not entertained. I suppose that, however satisfying the climax was, the film was too depressing for me.