And then there were two. With Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards now scheduled to begin filming in October in time for Cannes 2009 (!), the script is making the studio rounds this week and the first two reviews have just hit the Web. The consensus: Holy Shit. Our pal El Mayimbe at Latino Review describes the screenplay—-which is divided into five chapters—-as a masterpiece, adding, “Hands down, the script was the most enjoyable read of the year for me so far.” And this dude is privy to a lot of scripts people.

The sentiments at Vulture are equally \m/: “If anyone is crazy enough to fund it, this movie is gonna be awesome.” Moreover, the cover sheet to their copy was seemingly handwritten by Tarantino, with the title spelled Inglorious Basterds [sic]. It even looks like one of those trendy faux-Michael Bay scripts, but an inside source tells me their descriptions, which parallel LR’s, sound legit.

So, what’s it about? You mean, besides the graphic scalping of countless Nazis circa WWII? The lead character that Brad Pitt has reportedly been offered is named Lieutenant Aldo Raine (which reminds me of of the Alpa Chino character in Tropic Thunder, but let’s move on). Raine leads a blood thirsty squadron of soldiers (neither review specified about the rumored “war criminals” aspect) called the “Bastards” for a final mission that involves ruining Nazi party plans to premiere a propaganda film in Paris. The chapters are said to form a storyline double helix of sorts, switching from the Bastards to the other main character, which Vulture describes as “a French Jewish teenager named Shosanna who survives the massacre of her family.” She is curating the premiere and has something up her sleeve for the Third Reich as well.

QT seems to have crafted an epic bugged-out Jewsploitation film, one that takes history for a loose and wild ride to hell and back. Latino Review describes one the Bastards, nicknamed The Bear Jew, as a suspected golem who skull-crushes Germans using a trusty baseball bat. Right now I am picturing Larry David and Adam Goldberg kicking Hitler’s decapitated head around as they puff Red Apple cigarettes (but it’s just my imagination). The head villain goes by “The Jew Hunter.” He’s a Nazi colonel named Hans and not to be messed with; of course, the Bastards don’t listen.

So, Tarantino is definitely going the IYFF route as he previously boasted. But how does the dialogue measure up and how does the script compare to his other works? Thankfully, the comparisons lean toward Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill rather than the absorbed homage that was Death Proof. For example, similar to the classic anime segment in KB Vol. 1, one chapter in IB will be shot in “French New Wave Black and White.” Mayimbe says the entire script is masterfully written…

“If you took the bad guy swagger of RESOVOIR DOGS, the uber coolness and structure of PULP FICTION, throw in the revenge angle of KILL BILL, set it in World War II – you get INGLORIOUS BASTERDS.”

Also…

“…it combines his love of old movies (war movies, Westerns, and even prewar German cinema), his attraction to powerful female protagonists, his love of chatter, and his willingness to embrace the extreme — visually and in his storytelling.” - Vulture

Awesome. Though I haven’t been too stunned by various dialogue excerpts so far, these are veddy promising reactions. Once again, millions of geek eyes look on Tarantino, and this time he seems more fired up than ever. More on Inglorious Bastards as it develops…

Discuss: Are you ready? What do you make of the early reviews for Inglorious Bastards?