This is one of my favorite movies in a long time. It is easily Tarantino's second best movie, and dare I say it, it might be better than Pulp Fiction. I thought it would be pretty hard for The Hurt Locker to be surpassed as my best of the year, but IG easily takes the #1 spot.
The acting is almost universally great, although I did not love the Mike Myers cameo. Waltz puts on a performance that is guaranteed to earn him an Oscar. I hated Brad Pitt in the trailer but I loved him in the movie. He is perfect.
Do you tell James Joyce that he should not write in stream of conscience? Do you tell Picasso he should have painted with water color and not oil? Of course not. And you dont tell a film maker that he is not allowed to structure his film any way he chooses. Especially when it works so well. I loved the chapter structure and slow burn of the scenes in this movie. The scenes are long but they build to a crescendo in every case.
Take the first chapter, and the best in my opinion. It is a 25 minute conversation that slowly builds to a violent explosion much like the 1812 Overture builds slowly to the cannon fire. Chapter one is a love poem to Leone and Morricone. It even has the famous scene framed by the door. This is the single best scene I have watched in many years.
This is a revenge fantasy. It changes history. This is not a fault of the movie but a strength. It is not meant to be accurate. Everything about this film is a love letter to spaghetti westerns and mission films.
It is a masterpiece.