Its called Inglorious Basterds and you have to wonder why. Tarantino's seventh attempt at immortality pretends to be something for everyone, from Godard's elegant whismy to Morricone's masterful soundscapes and his unquestionable devotion to Brian "Mission to Mars" De Palma's sub Hitchcockian set pieces. When this was first mooted with tentative casting being debated, the names mentioned were Michael Madsen, Adam Sandler, Steven Seagal and Mike Myers. Since Austin Powers is the only survivor from the original line-up you have to wonder just how much the original idea has been changed. It is evident that a Tarantino helmed wisecracking juggernaut replete with several A-listers would have been a no-brainer for the average cine-illiterate studio head. Of course this is all irrelevant in light of QT's unprecedented leverage comprising final cut and script integrity not to mention the free rein to rocket any deserving jobbing actor he deems interesting to stardom. Not to say that Christoph Waltz doesn't deserve such an opportunity since he is almost the only person in this with anything approaching an arc. We know so little of Shosanna played by Melanie Laurent (the main protaganist of the piece) that when the climax comes and the conflagration of nazi-killers and killer-nazis begins one little girls unrelenting wish for revenge seems lost in the preceding genre-mixing and b-movie chaos.
