The D is Silent, Hell yeah.

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2013)

After Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, which packed an irresistible powerful punch three years ago, he establishes a great imprint of what his customers were looking for on a video store when he was working for one. Yes, it's the Spaghetti Western flicks, and now it's a bloody wish fulfillment. Django Unchained is one of Tarantino's greatest passions in Western flicks. Whether you're just starting to get to know QT, Django perhaps is a great way to start.
Much has been said about Tarantino's portrayal of gore, mayhem and relentless moments, he transform it in forms of merriment. Like any films in the director's filmography, it's full of hilarious moments which came from his own correspondence. And most of all, the film is peppered with his own music collection: From Johnny Cash to John Legend, and wait, from rapper RZA? That's just funny, but tolerable.
Tarantino's script is also patient and edifying. It's in no hurry to show what QT fans are waiting for. Obviously, every Tarantino films are comprised with slow-burn dialogues because it's funny how smart and mad he is about the movies. It serves as a retaliation of what he likes and what he doesn't like and I don't blame him for it. We can never be defiant in Tarantino's universe, we owe a lot to him, and he's just doing the favor.
The film starts in 1858 in Texas, two years before the Civil War. Django (Jamie Foxx) and a number of chained slaves have been a victim of slavery and was bought by the Speck Brothers (James Remar and James Russo). Meanwhile, a dentist named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) confronts the brothers and frees Django. The reason that Schultz chooses Django is because the latter says he knows the Brittle Brothers, perhaps Schultz next move. As Django agrees to help Schultz in bounty-hunting, they first embark to confront the Brittle Brothers. Afterwards, it leads Django to become Schultz's associate in bounty-hunting across Texas. From there, Django discovers his forte: For wielding pistol in cowboy style, and shooting rifles (even magnum and shotguns) on intimate long range.
Django also explains to Schultz that his wife Bloomhilda Von Shaft (Kerry Washington) is also sold in slavery in Mississippi. Her current owner is a man named Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), a plantation owner, and an audacious man. His slaves, probably the Mandingo people, are forced to fight each other. The duo plans a plot to rescue Bloomhilda from Candie by pretending to negotiate in buying one of his fight slaves, but consider in proposing to buy Bloomhilda instead. I imagine it to be very lucrative, but I also imagine Candie to be like Col. Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds. The deal is terrifying and so is the suspenseful notion.
Here is a film that looks absolutely fantastic, shot wonderfully but also superbly constructed from the ground up. The costume design and production values make a comeback in the likes of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Tarantino never hesitated to bring it back to life and keep piling all of what he likes on a Spaghetti Western flick.
In addition, the Blaxploitation is stunningly awesome, with its over- the-top gritty performance, and of course the mayhem, and the "n" word madness. It is noticeable that one of QTs film trademark is quick zooms, and rotating camera pans from his collaborator DP Robert Richardson. In addition, the film is still successfully edited even though QTs collaborator in editing, the late Sally Menke wasn't there anymore.
The film's vehemence is fresh but rather unoriginal. Tarantino wanted the violence to be relentless like his partner in crime Robert Rodriguez did with his Grindhouse (2007) feature header "Planet Terror". He planted the idea that stunt performers must have blood bags to imitate oozing gunshots and make it an extreme action exploit. But who cares, it's kind of fun ain't it? Black folks shooting all folks?
Aside from the action, it also balances drama and romance. Think of it like the late Tony Scott's film "True Romance" (1993), where Tarantino made the script, and it came from his true voice. It was romantic and appealing, a story about a bimbo-cum-best-pal hooker and a man who falls in love with her. I love the impression that Tarantino made an actually romantic clash between Django and Bloomhilda. It's not just a freedom from slavery which actually historical, but it's also a deliverance from suffering and nightmare of being a slave.
The actors made such winning performance as always. Leo DiCaprio, as I've said, steps in Christoph Waltz's much terrifying performance like that of being a Hans Landa on screen. He's terrifying as Candie, making him a solid Oscar contender for it. For Django, there're plenty of great black actors in mind, but I'm not saying that Jamie Foxx isn't the greatest. I accepted him for what he is as Django. His character is a comeback that the Django name in films must once more reign supreme. However, Sam Jackson is suited more like a comedian with a Southern accent in the film. His performance is somewhat inevitable, he dress as the good guy suspecting the protagonists as bad guys. But wow, what a performance.
Django is probably the greatest smart-ass Spaghetti Western royale that Tarantino crafted. If not one of his greatest in the filmography, then it's one of his finest achievement ever since he became a director himself.