Django desencadenado

I only had one thought on my mind for this Christmas: see Django Unchained. Quentin Tarantino's latest opus, a Western set two years before the Civil War, concerns a former slave named Django (Jamie Foxx). He is freed by bounty hunter Dr. King Shultz (Christoph Waltz) in order to help him with a bounty. Quite quickly, Shultz takes Django under his wing and trains him as his partner. But he made him a promise: that he would rescue his wife from a plantation owned by the ruthless Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). And rescuing her is not going to be all that easy.

What pains me the most about Django Unchained, as a die-hard Tarantino fan, is just how sloppy it all seems. I enjoyed every minute of it, but I could never shake the feeling of how messy and thrown together it all feels. Portions of the film feel episodic (the search for the Brittle Brothers, mentioned heavily in the trailers, begins and ends practically within minutes), and some scenes just seem to play out just for the fun of it. Another scene from the trailers involving a lynch mob with bags covering their faces seems added for comedic purposes, and has no real point of actually existing. More than any of his films before it, Django feels like Tarantino simply making a movie for sheer pleasure and with no outside motivations or controllers.

The film threatens to go totally off the rails at any given moment, and lacks any real sense of direction or focus. It may sound ridiculous, but the loss of editor Sally Menke confirms a sneaking suspicion I always had about Tarantino – he needed a steady right hand to help encourage him as to what was needed and what was not. I do not want to criticize Django's editor Fred Raskin, but it is obvious he is no Menke and that works against the film heavily. It lacks the polish we have come to expect, and is practically stripped of the glossy/cool texture so prevalent in Tarantino's work up until now.

But then maybe that was his intention all along, and perhaps Tarantino is airing out his frustrations with life and film in general. Django is deliberately shot on film (or at least from the print I saw), and looks very gritty and messy at all times. It is significantly more brutally violent than anything he has worked on before (the borderline cartoonish Kill Bill included), and has a very go for broke attitude about itself. The film seems to revel in how brilliantly it can splatter all the blood and gore (done through the use of squibs and no digital!), and how uncomfortably numbing it can make the violence. I know he does not care what people think of his films, but this movie especially seems like an emphatically raised middle finger to the establishment. And for all of my complaints about how messy it all feels, I was never once bored or felt like the movie was dragging itself out. The staggering 165-minute running time shockingly flies by faster than you might ever imagine.

Acting wise, Tarantino stacks the deck with a number of recognizable character actors young and old for roles that vary in size. Most have very few lines, if any at all, and seem to just stand by, just as content as the audience is to watch the action unfold. It is a little off-putting, especially with how important some of these characters are initially made out to be. Washington as Broomhilda von Shaft (one of the most subtle references he's ever dropped) does well as the helpless victim and frequent dreamlike object – but she never really gets to show off any of her acting prowess outside of her facial reactions. They are increasingly effective, especially during horrific flashback scenes. But her work here feels ridiculously stunted in comparison to the other leads. Samuel L. Jackson, much like Tarantino himself, seems to just be having fun in his role as Candie's adviser Stephen. He plays on every ridiculous stereotype he ever has been associated with and then amps it up to a near ludicrous state. He is frequently hilarious, but the role seems to border on parody more than anything else.

Surprisingly, Foxx takes a very long time settling into the leading role. It may just be the character, but it is quite clear from the on- set that he is not very comfortable in Django's shoes, and leads credence to why Will Smith, amongst so many others, dropped out of the picture so quickly. But once he finds his footing, he does a fantastic job walking the thin line between empathetic and sadistic. It is not an easy character to play, but Foxx makes it his own, bringing a sense of style and grace that are virtually absent from the rest of the film. And of course, he gets all the best lines.

Waltz and DiCaprio are the clear standouts however, nailing every nuance of their sadly underwritten characters. While Waltz plays the straight man, DiCaprio is delightfully unhinged and vicious. Both are playing directly against type, yet are strangely comfortable in the roles. Watching them act circles around the rest of the cast, Foxx included, is the true highlight of the film. I just wish they were both given additional emphasis and more to do.

For all of its numerous faults, I had a blast watching Django Unchained. It is hilarious, it is a lot of fun, and is wildly enjoyable. I genuinely think it could have been a lot better if there was more focus and direction, but this is very clearly a picture Tarantino wanted to make on his own terms. And for that, I applaud him for the effort. It is not his best work, but certainly not his worst.

8/10.

This is a fun movie! Great acting, great soundtrack, great editing and great story! The scenes in the big house...top class! Every scene with Leonardo diCaprio was amazing! Now my problems with the movie: the main meat of the movie, the mid section, dragged on a little too long and some of the dialogue was a bit dull but it was necessary to tell the story. The opening of the movie though, was great, I was hooked instantly and the end was so chaotic and fast paced! I wasn't expecting this movie to be as hilarious as it was either, so many scenes had the timing of humour spot on and actually made me laugh out loud. The story isn't complicated or hard to follow which is good, I enjoyed being able to relax and watch the movie unfold. I like this...9/10.

Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) is a bounty hunter. To identify his next catch, he tries to purchase Django (Jamie Foxx). Thing go all wrong Tarantino style. The two become friends and Dr Schultz decide on a plan to free Django's wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from a notorious plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

This is Quentin Tarantino all the way. His style has become as unique & original as they come. There is no mistaking it for another. It's the music, the violence, the visuals, the black humor, and the subject matter. This is all Tarantino. If there is one complain, it's the double climax. While I understand the need for a happy Hollywood ending, it would have been better to have 1 big gun fight and just finish with it. Not that big of a deal. Certainly it's still a great film.

This is a movie that wouldn't work with every other director other than Tarantino. Just like all of his movies, film making top tier. Every aspect of this film is amazing

A German bounty hunter flees a Slave, Django, and the pair embark on a mission to find Django's wife.

As soon as I heard Luis Bacalov's Django, I was hooked.

This remains my favourite Tarantino film, and let's be fair there are many classics in that particular catalogue.

Django is equal parts shocking, entertaining, dramatic, bold, funny and original, to this day no other film exists that is remotely similar. It's a western, action packed love story, it really is a one off.

Three hours passed by effortlessly, it's one of those films where I wasn't aware of time passing by, I was engrossed and absorbed into it.

Some of the humour is hilarious, and in the context of the film works to perfection, the humour is as good, as the violence and misery of slavery are guy wrenching.

The music is absolutely wonderful, the perfect soundtrack accompanies this great film. Indeed the whole production is exemplary, it's a skilfully crafted film, the visuals are jaw dropping, it's very skillfully put together, with costumes, sets and lighting all on point, with the unbelievable staging as well.

Now I am sometimes quick to highlight who stands out in a film or TV series, but how can you do that here, every single performance is on point, Waltz, Foxx, DiCaprio, Jackson, I honestly don't think it gets better than this assembly of greats.

It's no wonder it gave us so many memes, who hasn't seen this masterpiece. If you haven't grab your remote, and improve your day.

10/10.