The pursuit of vengeance

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2013)

Django Unchained is one of Quentin Tarantino's many successes, and has now become my second favourite film of his. Unchanged has everything you would want from Tarantino: dynamic and defined characters, witty yet natural dialogue, and of course some bloody (literally) awesome action scenes.
As for acting I was very impressed with the whole cast. Foxx has given his best performance since Ray, and managed to hold his own against waltz. Foxx also contributed his comedic talents (complimenting the comic relief in Waltz) to Django, which would have otherwise made the film drag. Waltz was fantastic as always and really helped carry the first half of the film. His comedic role was a shock after seeing him as "The Jew Hunter" in inglorious Bastards, which shows Waltz's versatility. Leonardo DiCaprio was the biggest surprise, (also his best performance ever in my opinion) he was excellent as a cruel slave master that was genuinely terrifying and realistic. Sam Jackson added a nice minor performance as the Stockholm syndrome sufferer and deprived servant to Leo. Kerry Washington had a brief yet poignant role as Django's suffering wife, and shared some great scenes with Waltz.
The cinematography was a standout in this film. Robert Richardson beautifully captured the landscape of the south, featuring beautiful sunsets and mountain ranges. The costume design was also excellent, especially the many three piece suits of Walz and DiCaprio. As far as soundtrack Tarantino does an excellent job blending genres, time periods and score like no other director could.
As far as direction Tarantino has classic nods to the western genre. His use of Zoom and sound effects are a homage to the classic t.v. shows of the 60's. Tarantino once again is able to use tension building camera angles (think Inglorious Bastards opening credits). Tarantino really does show his talent for directing action scenes in particular.
The only criticism about Django was one particular scene which felt like a cut away from a family guy episode, this scene stood out to me. Not that this moment was not hilarious, but it felt out of place with the perfect dark comedy that accompanied the rest of the film. Overall Django is another excellent film added to Tarantino's collection. It had the great dialogue, soundtrack, acting, and action that you would expect from one of the best working directors today.