Dark, violent, and brutally hilarious

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2012)

I've been looking forward to this movie for a long, long time. I finally got to see it yesterday night, and I'm thrilled to say the movie didn't disappoint.
The film opens with Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) freeing Django (Jamie Foxx) from his abusive owners. They then make an agreement to track down three brothers, who were previous owners of Django, and kill them for a reward. Over the course of the film, the two characters bond, and eventually Schultz agrees to help Django rescue his lost wife, who is owned by a malicious plantation owner named Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Every character in the film is perfectly cast. Jamie Foxx does a nice job of carrying the film, and Samuel L. Jackson does very well with his role. In particular, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio shine; I fully expect one of them to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
From the first scene, I was hooked. As masterful as ever, Tarantino combines witty dialogue with bloody violence to create an awesome cinematic experience. Everything is way over the top - fight sequences feature excessive gore, many scenes are drawn out for comedic effect, and the profanity is ubiquitous. The film clocks in at 165 minutes, almost three hours, and I never once was bored.
One last thing that I really enjoyed is how the film looks; as far as I could tell, the CGI in this film was very minimal. After seeing The Hobbit last week, this movie was extremely fresh and organic in its appearance, and it really contributed to how enjoyable the film was.
Overall, this is a great movie. Witty dialogue, wonderful acting, and brutal violence all combine to make a darkly funny movie. Definitely my favourite film of 2012.
RATING: 9/10