Pure Tarantino

Rating: Null/10 (12 March 2013)

Quentin Tarantino is perhaps the only mainstream movie director that can give us a movie like this and still get away with it. If you can call him mainstream, that is. Perhaps commercially successful would be a better term. Or perhaps well-known. Regardless of the exact term, we don't usually see films this full of violence and gore outside of indie films. Which is a shame, because in my opinion this is an excellent film. Excellent.
Though don't get me wrong. It's not a good film just because it has a lot of brutality, blood and extreme portrayals of violence. It's a good film because it has excellent characters, an interesting story and it is shot so well that you're transported right into the infamous antebellum era from the very first scene. It's a brutal film yes, but the era was equally brutal, and I give this film props for not shying away from that fact. Sure Mandingo fights might never have existed, but slavery was still a horrifying phenomenon, and this film deals with the subject admirably.
The things I enjoyed the most are by far the characters. Tarantino has always had a talent for writing unusual and intriguing personalities and this film is no different. The dialogues are not quite as quotable as in his other films and there is not a clear winner for the best scene in this film, unlike in his previous ones, but the whole still holds together. The actors are equally as capable, though Christoph Waltz once again steals the show as Dr. King Schultz, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson are also very good in their roles. The only real nitpick I have is that perhaps the character of Django (Jamie Foxx) is a bit too bland compared to the rest of the outlandish characters, but then again he is the audience surrogate, so it kind of works. Perhaps he would have needed a bit more spice, but that's just my opinion.
As for the story, I quite honestly feel that the ending dragged a bit too long. Or should I say that there was one ending too many. The film almost reaches a resolution, but then it suddenly throws in a twist that keeps it going for another twenty minutes. The twist has a purpose and it has been foreshadowed, but it still feels unneeded. But before that the film is pure gold. Especially the first hour or so, which is full of crazy scenes, intriguing character development and great atmosphere.
Who would like this film? Well, if you're a fan of Tarantino, you're probably going to love this one. It's full of his unique style and visuals and the man is still going strong. If you're unfamiliar with Tarantino, you're going to like this if you're a fan of blazing action, interesting characters, westerns and/or great storytelling. However, if you're squeamish about blood, violence and gore, even by a little bit, stay as far away from this film as humanly possible. It's a film for adults, pure and simple. And for what it is, it's perhaps one of the best films I've ever seen.