Much Ado About 'Basterds'

I am not going to see Inglourious Basterds.

I've never been a Tarantino fan to begin with, and, as I recently told a Change.org member in a comment thread, I rarely chose to spend my free time watching Holocaust or genocide-themed movies. I used to, once upon a time, but these days am more likely to opt for something along the lines of Zoolander.

Given that Basterds is described as a "blood-soaked" revenge-fantasy with "cartoonish savagery," I don't feel that I'm missing out on much. But I'll still chime in on the controversy.

You can react to Tarantino's excessively violent portrayal of Jewish rebels exacting revenge on their Nazi abusers in one of two ways:

1.) Fantastic --- it sure is satisfying to see a bunch of Nazis get their comeuppance, and it's nice the traditional Jews-as-helpless-victims role turned on its head.

2.) Shame --- such a portrayal appeals to brute instincts and glorifies the very violence and brutality that destroyed so many innocent lives during the Holocaust.

German critics are apparently "dazzled" but what they consider to be a "historic" and "important" film. Surely, as is apparent even from written reviews, the film is starkly different from others on the Holocaust. But is it really a noteworthy standout in the Holocaust genre, or merely a typical action movie with a Holocaust theme?

Perhaps there is a third way to react, then:

3.) It's just a movie. Get over it.