Django Unchained (2013)

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2013)

With any Quentin Tarantino film the expectation is always going to be at its highest. So what starts off as a new good looking film from QT turns into more of an event. Django really did live up to my expectations and I hope any other QT fan out there thought the same. When he first announced the release of Django Unchained, I thought okay another meaningless title, what is it going to bring and is it going to be as good as his previous films, is this is where it goes down hill for Quentin. Really I was just being pessimistic. Because yes it was just as intriguing as any other of his previous films. Quentin's love for cult cinema is commonly unknown by many, which was why I knew there was a western being loaded into the Quentin cannon anytime soon. He mentioned in one of his interviews that a big inspiration to him was Sergio Leone and his classic spaghetti western 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'. So to see Quentin tackle the ethics of the western genre made the release that much more of a double event. But strictly speaking Django isn't a western. If anything it should be tagged as a 'Southern' coming from the man himself. It has nothing to do with the western genre. Unlike Inglorious Bastards, Django doesn't try to be a riot and doesn't try to be as politically correct as possible (referring to WW2). It concentrates more on character development, pointing at Django (Jamie Foxx). For the first time in Quentin history the story is more linear and concentrates on the portrayal and the story of one character's journey. Also there are no shifts in time like Quentin's previous films. We don't see Travolta being shot by Willis and then reappearing in a later scene which is based before that scene. This doesn't leave you so confused but that doesn't mean you're not left confused at times during the film. After all that is QT job. Which is why as Quentin fans we need to see the film another two to three times to get the full QT experience. Also we don't get 'Chapter 2' or anything like that. Django goes for the more 'Rescue the princess' type theme. The story sees Django a slave being "Unchained" by a bounty hunter slash dentist Dr King Schultz (QT latest discovery Christoph Waltz) who won his deserved Oscar for Inglorious Bastards in 2009. However over the campfire he is amazed to know that Django is married to another slave called Broomhilda Von Shaft (Kerry Washington) even though Foxx and Washington played a couple in Ray. Now as this is a 'Rescue the princess' film, there is a villain. Django Unchained's finest element is the new Robert De Niro, AKA Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie. A plantation owner in the south. Who keeps slaves including Django's love. QT tries to make him a perfect, spiteful, prone to flattery, selfish, vain man who wants nothing else but money. But the result is naive and funny which doesn't disappoint. Now me being negative. Quentin's attempt to include black comedy leaves the viewer slightly confused and doesn't want to know why they are confused either. I know there has been some controversy on the films running time and frankly it is not long ENOUGH. It flew by for me and I feel that some scenes could have been longer but I have a hunch they were shortened for the best. But other than that the only other advice is don't watch the trailer as it doesn't do the film justice! In conclusion Django Unchained is a delight to watch from two hours before the film starts to the end credits. Verdict: Another bloody, well scripted masterpiece that QT has fed to our hungry eyes. Django really does help define QT as one of the finest directors in modern day filming. The only issue now is, can he keep it up?