Predicted Rating: 5 Stars
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill). Starring Jamie Foxx (Ray, Horrible Bosses), Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds, The Green Hornet), Leonardo Di Caprio (Inception, What's Eating Gilbert Grape) and Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane, Jurassic Park).
Set three years before the start of the civil war, Django Unchained tell the story of a bounty hunter, Dr. King Shultz (Waltz), who is in the process of tracking down the Speck Brothers. In his travels, he comes across Django (Foxx), a slave who knows the whereabouts of the brothers. After collecting their bounty, Shultz and Django go in search of Django's wife, Broomhilda Von Shaft, who is owned by the ruthless Calvin Candie (Di Caprio).
Now, I am just throwing this out there early, this is going
to be a terrible review. Most of my good ones come from movies that are bad,
for example Snow White and the Huntsman. For those reviews, I can attack the movie with reckless abandonment, holding nothing back. I assume after reading such review, all those involved in the movie go home, cry in the corner, and make some sort of rash deal with the devil so they never make a bad movie again. With Django Unchained, there is nothing bad I can say about the movie. As a result I will try my best to make a good review.
I suppose we will start with the inevitable, a ranking system comparing this Tarantino movie to all his previous movies. I know most critics will be doing the exact same thing, however, I think it is warranted. Tarantino movies are an enigma in their own and cannot be accurately compared to other movies. They are so different to mainstream movies in their feel, style and themes that they have really created a sub-culture of their own. Many have tried to emulate the originality and genius of Tarantino but failed miserably. This may be because people require the visualisation of the Tarantino name in the credits but never the less he has really created his own genre. In the Tarantino standings this one ranks somewhere in the middle. That is not to say this is a bad movie at all, it is just his other movies are absolutely fantastic. Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill Vol 1. are my number one and two favourite movies of all time respectively. Inglorious Basterds is a favourite among many. So in the end, I think Django comes in number 4 after the three aforementioned films, just ahead of Reservoir Dogs. It is definitely his funniest movie he's made with a plethora of laughs from the bag scene to the almost comedic violence. However, it seems to lack the originality of say Pulp Fiction and the ingenious of Inglorious Basterds. Also, at 165 minutes, it outstays it's welcome by a tad.
I do love it that, for the majority of Tarantino's movies, he can be ridiculously racist but always come out to appear as the good guy. The use of the N word in this film is rife. I saw a proposal for a drinking game that called for a drink when such word is said, something I believe would kill even the most experienced of drinkers. However, it is used as such a derogatory term in the movie that you associate it's use from anyone as them being the bad guy. Some are saying that the film is even racist against white people. I can agree that all the enemies in the film are white but it is in no way racist. It might be racist against rich white males between 1840 and 1858, they aren't really a race though.
In the end, this is a fantastic film. Not for the faint hearted but definitely worth seeing. It won't go down in history as Tarantino's best effort but it will still live on in pop culture for a long time coming. Bring on the DVD release!
Overall Rating: 5 Stars
Next Time: Most likely Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
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