Quintessential Tarantino; you love it or you don't. I do.

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2013)

What characterizes a Tarantino movie, in his own words, REVENGE. Indeed, when interviewed a few years back, Quentin Tarantino expressed his ambition to be known for the guy who makes the best revenge movies; well, he certainly does revenge with flair. Being a walking talking encyclopedia of movies, Tarantino has studied the movies and the audiences reaction and he plays to those very well. He also loves to make small homage to movie makers that have influenced him in one way or another and in Django Unchained, he used the theme of the 60's original series of Django movies; even Franco Nero, the original Django in the 1966 movie that bears the name title, has a role in this Tarantino movie.
Christoph Waltz is, and should be, grateful to Tarantino for making him an almost common name in the biz now, certainly a recognizable actor. Since his role in Inglorious Basterds that brought him to prominence and now an Oscar for his role in Django, this Austrian born actor delivers absolutely choice dialogue as only he could. Waltz's role sold the film to me; that's not to say the performance delivered by Leonardo DiCaprio was not an outstanding one because it was, and I'll bet he enjoyed the role of the bad guy. He was terrific in it.
Tarantino's film humor is witty and selective, so there isn't an abundance of it, as it would deter from the main plot; the only thing Tarantino movies has in volume is violence, oodles of it, and this film is no exception. Another trademark is that his violence is often creative to boot; that's the case here. I'll not spoil it for you by saying how; it just is.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Tarantino's score and tune selection as another notable trademark; it just doesn't go unnoticed, period. Samuel Jackson and Michael Parks, regulars of Tarantino, add to the terrific cast of characters in the movie. I haven't watched a Tarantino movie I didn't like; Inglorious Basterds was the least of my favorites though, but since Waltz played in it, I include that film in the 'like' category.