Django Unchained Review

Let’s talk about Django Unchained. It’s rare to see a Western these days and even rarer to see a Quentin Tarantino movie. As most of you out there will probably know this man rarely releases any films, so when he does it usually comes with a lot of hype and Django Unchained is no exception. 

Yet I will be the first to admit that I was not to keen on this film when the trailer first came out. To me it just looked like another Western, even if it did have Tarantino’s name glued to it. I will also admit that I am not a huge fan of Tarantino films. Don’t get me wrong I like Kill Bill One and Two and Pulp Fiction but I don’t think any of the three films are exceptional, as is the general consensus. 

Yet Django Unchained I really enjoyed. The movies starts out with Django (Jamie Foxx) being led by slavers to a sale. On route he is freed by Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a former German dentist-turned bounty hunter. 

Dr Shultz asks Django to help him track down three brothers - as he knows what they look like - with the promise of sharing the cash reward for their heads if he helps. Django accepts the offer and after a bloody massacre on a plantation where the trio are hiding, Django decides to join Dr Shultz in the bounty hunting business. Ultimately the two partners arrive at ‘Candie Land’, a cotton plantation where they face off against Leonardo DiCaprio in a game of wits, will and cash to free Django’s wife.

The acting in this film is nothing short of amazing. You do feel that the right person was cast for every role and it is nice to see Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio taking on more mature roles and complex characters compared to some of their previous incarnations. Samuel L Jackson must also be praised for an exceptional performance as Stephen, a slave who holds a fierce loyalty to his master Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) despite a lifetime of forced servitude. 

While slavery is a constant in this film, it is a chapter in American history that Tarantino does not shy away from. He makes fun of the type of white, rich, plantation owners that had slaves but also looks at the darker fate of those who tried to run away and were caught. 

There is also that quirky Tarantino undertone that exists in all of his films. A moment or a line that the viewer does not expect coming - like when Django is allowed to choose his own clothes and opts for a blue leotard-type outfit which attracts many stares.

Also don’t mess with Django. He blows both Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L Jackson up. Are fictional characters allowed to do that? I’m sure there’s a law against blowing up Hollywood legends but you’d be crazy to blow up TWO.

Yet it is funny...

I know I have been praising this film a lot but there is genuinely really little that there is to criticise. It is one of only a handful of movies that I have seen in recent years which has not left me disappointed.

Want a criticism? It’s too long. Two and a half hours is a bit long winded, no matter how good your film is. 

Django Unchained gets 9/10.