This weekend I finally managed to get out to see the much anticipated Inglourious Basterds. I was ready. I knew that historical accuracy wasn't top of the list when Quentin Tarantino made it. I was ready for some sharp dialogue and some bloody violence. I walked in completely open-minded.
Twenty minutes in and I was wondering if I could make it to the end of the film. Apart from the brilliant Christoph Waltz as the creepy Colonel Hans Landa I was distinctly underwhelmed. It just seemed like Tarantino trying to demonstrate exactly how clever he was whilst Pitt did an odd accent.
Then it started to get better. The storyline around Shosanna and the cinema was stronger, Michael Fassbender turned up and was brilliant and I started to get into it. Waltz continued to be a brilliant villain and the pace got faster and faster until it erupted into an explosion of fire and fury at the end.
I walked out as open-minded as I walked in. Was it good or was it bad? I still can't decide. Some great performances, exciting scenes and great lines were offset by the poor performances of others, over-the-top showing off and general stupidity of a lot of it.
I suppose I'll have to rent it on DVD to make up my mind.