My feelings on this film reflect my feelings on a lot of Tarantino's films; overrated, but still reasonably enjoyable

Rating: 6/10 (6 January 2015)

Having been hugely underwhelmed with Death Proof which was Tarantino's previous effort to Django Unchained, I wasn't in any particular rush to see this film. Even though this film has a current IMDb rating of 8.5 and a metascore of 81 (meaning it is generally held in high esteem by both the viewing public and critics alike), I still decided to approach it with caution. Whilst, it's far from perfect I did find it to be reasonably enjoyable.
The start of the film is great and Tarantino is clearly paying some sort of homage to the Western genre (in fact, one could easily believe that they're watching a spaghetti western when the film begins). I also thought that this film was fairly humorous on the whole - subtle gags like Django's surname being Freeman, Schultz's horse nodding whenever Schultz introduces him to anyone. I actually though that the first 45 minutes or so of this film were really good and these first 45 minutes are easily the strongest aspect of this film.
Where the film falters slightly is in the middle section when Django and Schultz are introduced to Calvin Candle. This particular section was far too long and drawn out and the film noticeably loses momentum in the middle. This isn't helped by the fact that the running time of this film is 160 minutes which is far too long given the plot of this film (it could have been trimmed by 30 minutes or so without it affecting the film as a whole). Like a lot of Tarantino's films, this film combines humorous dialogue with brutal violence. It's a mix that I generally like in most of his films, but I must admit to feeling a bit dirty about the brutal treatment of slaves seemingly being done for laughs - it just doesn't feel right to me.
What really saves this film are the performances from the principal cast; Foxx is fairly low-key for the majority of the film, but does get to flex his acting chops in the latter stages of the film. Waltz was excellent and funny, but also in a low-key way. Di Caprio was over the top and ridiculous (much like he was in The Wolf of Wall Street), but he certainly brought a bit of life to the film. Jackson was almost unrecognisable and also put in a solid performance. Direction and cinematography were also top-notch.
The final shoot out in this film was completely ridiculous and did cheapen the film slightly, but for me it was bad in a way that was still quite funny so it's not a major criticism. Tarantino has a cameo in this film and presumably, unintentionally, reminds us once again that he is much better behind the camera than in front of it.
A mixed bag of a film really, but it is one that hits more than it misses. It isn't a perfect film, it's ridiculously overrated, over-long, and it does sag a bit in the middle. However, it is reasonably enjoyable for the most part.