Let's crunch some numbers.

The "Inglourious Basterds" marketing campaign is aimed at movie-goers who want to see Nazis get their big, fascist sauerkraut-loving asses kicked. That's probably about 95 percent of the American movie audience (subtracting critics).

The Basterds give 110 percent in their line of work: Brutally scalping and killing Nazis with guns, knives and baseball bats.

Unfortunately, the Basterds only appear in about 10 percent of the film, making it a 100 percent letdown.

OK, maybe not 100 percent, as "Inglourious Basterds" does have a few redeeming qualities (these are called variables in the math world), such as some outstanding performances.

Lieutenant Aldo Raine (played by Brad Pitt) is the leader of the Basterds. With a heavy Southern accent, deadpan humor and an unflappable exterior, Lt. Raine is one of those super-cool characters that will be immortalized on college dorm room posters with along with Bluto, Tony Montana and Heath Ledger's Joker.

While Lt. Raine is the face of the film, it is Colonel Hans Landa (played by the relatively unknown Christoph Waltz) who steals the show in an award-worthy performance. Col. Landa is a sadistic SS officer whose sole mission is to hunt down missing Jews. However, he's funny, eccentric and likable. What makes his performance captivating is that everyone knows about the monster that lurks underneath. Director Quentin Tarantino gives the Nazis a shot of humanity in this film and it pays off. It makes their hateful actions seem that much more despicable and eventually, you don't just want to see the Nazis scalped by the Basterds. You crave it.

And the film doesn't deliver in that aspect. The two opening scenes of "Inglourious Basterds" are perfect. The audience sees Col. Landa at work and the Basterds at work in intense scenes full of action.

Then the film gets bogged down by long conversations. Extended dialogue is nothing new in Tarantino films, but it isn't as clever here as it is in "Pulp Fiction." Tarantino intended to build tension with these lengthy conversations, but they're all very underwhelming after the profound couple of scenes that open "Inglourious Basterds." You wait and wait for something to happen, and when it finally does, it's short-lived and disappointing.

Tarantino leaves his mark more successfully in other places. How many World War II movies feature old Western music or songs from David Bowie? How many war epics introduce characters like their '50s comic book heroes? Tarantino walks the line between off-beat comedy, stone cold violence and serious drama maybe better than any other director in Hollywood and it's evident here, even though the bloodshed is lacking a bit.

All in all, this is probably Tarantino's best film since "Pulp Fiction" because the beginning and ending of "Inglourious Basterds" are absolutely outstanding. You may just get a bit antsy sitting through an hour and a half of only slightly interesting discussions in between.