After more than 15 years and six full features (not counting his parts of "Grindhouse" and "Four Rooms"), you know what you're getting with a Quentin Tarantino movie.

His latest, "Inglourious Basterds," is typically Tarantino. It's talky, foul-mouthed, over-the-top and probably too long by at least a half hour.

However, those who enjoy Tarantino's brand of off-the-wall filmmaking and those who can withstand this film's constant assault on their sensibilities will be just fine.

Those who don't should probably avoid this "what-if?" scenario World War II thriller entirely.

The title characters are an elite team of Jewish-American soldiers fighting for the U.S. Army. Led by their tough-talking commanding officer, Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), this group will use any and all tactics to bring the Nazis to justice. And they also hope to end the war early.

Several other characters and stories are explored here. Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) is a French Jew whose family has been killed and who now seeks revenge on the Nazis — especially the SS officer (Christoph Waltz) who was directly responsible for their killings.

Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) is a German actress aiding the French Resistance, as is Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender), a British intelligence agent and soldier.

And as usual, Tarantino finds a way to get some of his regulars into the movie — Harvey Keitel and Samuel L. Jackson can both be heard (as a voice on the phone and a narrator, respectively).

But that means recognizable actors like B.J. Novak (TV's "The Office") and Samm Levine ("Freaks and Geeks") don't get nearly enough to do. And you get the feeling some of the better material may have been left on the cutting-room floor.

Still, as far as revenge-thrillers are concerned, this one has the requisite thrills and some goofy moments. Pitt's vocal delivery suggests what would happen if a John Wayne character were played by former U.S. President George W. Bush.

And Austrian actor Waltz's charismatic villain is one of the better film bad guys in recent memory.

"Inglourious Basterds" is rated R and features strong, often disturbing violent action and imagery (shootings and gunplay, beatings, scalpings, fiery and explosive mayhem, and violence against women and children), graphic gory and bloody imagery, strong sexual language (profanity and slang terms), derogatory slurs and language (based on nationality, ethnicity and sexual orientation), scenes depicting torture and interrogation, brief drug content (hypodermic needles), a brief sex scene, and other off-color humor and references. Running time: 153 minutes.

e-mail: jeff@desnews.com