Christoph Waltz plays August, the tyrannical leader of the Benzini Traveling Circus, as if he has nothing to lose…except, that is, the respect he gained from his Oscar-winning turn in Quentin Tarantino‘s Inglourious Basterds. For Waltz is channeling the villainous Hans Landa one more time in a performance he could have done in his sleep.” — edited/compressed quote from Brad Brevet‘s 4.22 Rope of Silicon review of Water for Elephants.