Quentin Tarantino is back with a vengeance…wait, no, scratch that. Quentin Tarantino is back with another vengeance movie.

Yessiree bob, “Inglourious Basterds” is the next revenge based, spaghetti western flick that the man behind the amazing “Pulp Fiction” has presented to fill our mind with violent imagery combined with racist remarks and characters that can only exist on the silver screen.

In years past, his movies have dazzled us with fast-paced banter and soundtracks that make everything appear “smooth and cool.” This time around, Tarantino didn’t do that. There’s still dialogue with funny/racist remarks and a groovy song or two, but the “feel” of his previous flicks just felt a little diluted — or it could be due to the French New Wave cinema style this movie is filmed in; je ne sais pas (translation: I don’t know).

This story is set in a history different from ours, where Hitler and his highest-ranking cronies are attending a movie premiere in Nazi-occupied Paris to celebrate the newest propaganda film depicting a Nazi sniper who single-handedly killed 300 Americans in three days. It was inspired by an obscure Italian film bearing the similar title “Inglourious Bastards.”

Out to capitalize on this advantageous event are two groups. First, the Basterds: a group of eight Jewish-Americans led by a hillbilly-accented Brad Pitt, who makes it a point to either scalp every Nazi they find or carve a swastika into the foreheads; and second, Shosanna: an escaped Jewish-French girl who runs the theater where the premiere is happening. Many of these roles, and the roles of other side characters, are played by Tarantino’s friends and accomplices from his previous movies.

These characters are interesting but aren’t rounded out very well. Their backgrounds are painted into the actions you see onscreen and looking any further is unnecessary and not offered. The real stand-out role in this film is Col. Hans Landa of the Waffen-SS, aka the “Jew Hunter,” excellently portrayed by Christoph Waltz. He’s basically the only reason to see “Inglourious Basterds” apart from some comically over the top violence.

This film has its ups and downs and could have easily been shortened in a variety of spots and even completely cut a few characters and scenes without making the movie any harder to follow. Luckily the set design throughout the entire film is excellent and keeps your eyes interested even when the scenes on screen have you more concerned with your dwindling bag of over buttered popcorn.

Overall, it isn’t a bad movie and has a lot of fun moments. Do you need to rush out to theaters? No. Take your time, watch it on a date or on a lazy Sunday matinee – you could even wait for video. But do see it eventually, as it has one of the coolest bad ass/bad guys, the “Jew Hunter”, to have a leading role since Clint Eastwood played William Munny in “Unforgiven.”