Entertaining and stylized all over.

Rating: 8/10 (3 October 2015)

At it's core, this movie is entertaining. There are a couple of interesting aspects of it, but mostly it is meant to appeal to the tastes of the audience. Now, that does not mean that it is an LCD crowd pleaser. If you've seen the trailers or are familiar with some of Quentin Tarantino's other work, you probably know already how stylized this movie is. It's explosive, irreverent, satirical, and over the top, but that's what people love about it. Then again, I suppose it's also what people hate about it. But you have to give Tarantino and Co. props for delivering an entertainment-based movie that is done well because those can be pretty hard to mix properly. It seems to accomplish what most of the comedy genre is constantly trying to do and give people a fun two-hour movie. But what sets Django (and perhaps all Tarantino films, though I can't say for sure having only seen two) apart is that it takes risks and is delivered in such a way that it lets the audience decide when to laugh rather than telling them when.
The plot is pretty simple but it moves quickly. Essentially it follows an escaped slave turned bounty hunter that seeks to be reunited with his wife. There are no twists or arcs or things like that. That's not to say that it's aimless, but the story guides the characters more than they guide the story. As seems to be the case with a lot of Tarantino films, most of the main characters die by the end and their deaths are given little attention or mourning.
Our characters can really only exist as characters. As real people, they would be regarded as notorious criminals, but as characters they win the hearts of the audiences. Django lives the lifelong dream of freedom in a way that he never would have dreamed of. He doesn't have the greatest character development, but he does have some kind of personality. However, we are given reason to question his character when he takes his false role as a black slaver so seriously that he all but inflicts harm on the slaves below him. I suppose the justification for that is his need to return to his wife. Dr. Schultz is a little bit of an enigma as well because he seems friendly and sensible, but he also kills people with a frightening relish. He does seem to favor justice, though since he is averse to the evils of slavery and goes after the "bad guys" of the South. Django's wife Broomhilde doesn't get very much screen time, but we can sympathize with her situation and we get a good sense of her and Django's relationship. DiCaprio gives an energetic performance of the villainous plantation owner Calvin Candie. His phrenology-based point about black servitude is interesting in that it would make sense for someone in his setting to use. Probably the most entertaining character is Candie's black overseer Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson). He's kind of in a similar situation to Django since he's a black man living in a white man's world.
The acting is rather flamboyant from every role, even from the soft-spoken Jamie Fox, but they play their parts well. The script is pretty good, even with the large amount of language. There's some 200 n-words, but they are in context so it doesn't feel distractingly excessive. As you would expect, there are a lot of pretty bloody action sequences, but the gore is not the type that will make you squeamish. Some of the action is just mindless, but there is some intelligence in several of the fight scenes and standoffs. Throughout the entire film are stylized camera tricks and well-picked though out of context music.
Now, if this movie had come out at the same time it takes place, it might have had a reception comparable to Uncle Tom's Cabin, but in the 2010's, it merely serves as a satirical take on racism of days long past. If you want a good story, this does not deliver. If you want an action comedy, it should satisfy as long as you don't mind the irreverent atmosphere. If you like Tarantino, I can't say for sure whether you'll enjoy Django, but it is one of his best-rated movies. If you're deliberating over whether to see it, just know that it won't leave you inspired or awed, but it should leave you laughing. Overall Rating: 8.4/10.