"D-J-A-N-G-O.... the 'D' is silent."

Rating: 9/10 (30 December 2012)

After all the hype, all the articles and reviews, after all the controversy over the 'n' word, after all is said and done, Tarantino kicks butt again and comes up with a terrifically entertaining movie. Notice I said entertaining and not necessarily enjoyable. There are a number of scenes that are clearly not enjoyable, in fact, downright troubling like the dog attack of the black slave D'Artagnan (Ato Essandoh) and the hot box scene involving Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). But over all, Tarantino has fashioned a well told revenge tale modeled on the Spaghetti Western genre of the Seventies. And it begins immediately with a classy credit for the 'friendly participation of Franco Nero', the original coffin dragging gunslinger from the 1966 film who's name is resurrected here because frankly, it just sounds really cool.
Now here's the problem I have with folks who find racism around every corner - when a movie depicts events or themes that have racism at it's core, it doesn't mean that the picture or the film maker is racist or is making a racist statement. The entire controversy in the media surrounding the use of the 'n' word here is a prime example of critiquing the movie as a racist film. Personally, whenever I heard it used in the picture, it sounded to me like part of the era's vernacular and not as a pretext for sensationalism. So here's a question I have for the critics - when will you put Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson on the spot for their participation in the project? Are they being racist, or are they artists? Or is it only Quentin who has to answer for the film's language and subject matter?
What I didn't expect from the movie was the amount of humor and comedic dialog that came along with it. The bag head scene was surreally comic and just mind blowingly funny, but you really have to listen to the dialog to get it. The guy who was upset over the critique of his wife's working on the hoods was something one could easily relate to, and yet it sounded completely ludicrous even in context. I guess you have to be a little warped to come up with something like that, but warped seems to be right up Tarantino's alley. He proves it once and for all when he has Django blow himself sky high with the bag of dynamite. Priceless.
As for the violence, well it's red meat bloody and about as visceral as it gets, so if you're on the squeamish side, there are a few scenes that may give you the heaves. It's one area where the director explicitly goes over the top and much of it is quite unbelievable. I have to admit though, the 'say goodbye' scene with Miss Lara Lee (Laura Cayouette) was the best, and it wasn't bloody at all. That was one of the times the picture entered 'Kill Bill' territory.
As for a recommendation, you'll just have to guage your own preferences. I'm a Western movie and Tarantino fan and there was no way I was going to miss this. Casual movie goers with a low tolerance for gore and gratuitous shoot 'em up scenes should most likely stay away. Finally, for those hung up about the media's fascination with the 'n' word, I tried keeping up with the count as the picture progressed. I've read accounts that placed the number at well over a hundred, but I came up with seventy seven myself, realizing that I probably missed a few because it's easy to have your attention diverted by other elements in the story. No reason we can't get a recount with captioning on the DVD when it comes out.