Hell of a start followed by 2 1/2 hours of disappointment

Rating: 5/10 (12 January 2013)

As a QT fan, my expectations coming in were high, but this movie falls short of the hype, and not just because you'd expect more from a QT film. The opening scene is captivating and leads you to believe that this is going to be another Tarantino classic, but it begins to flail downhill from there.
(Spoiler alert)I get the eccentric Tarantino style, but what I had a major problem getting over is how Django goes from slave to sharp shooter seemingly overnight. Considering how long the movie was, there was never really any background or retrospective given as to how Django gets so prolific with a riffle that he's sniping dudes off of galloping horses some 100 yards away or clearing out rooms full of bandits wheeling a six shooter in each hand..
Waltz and Decaprio are what kept me from rating this movie a 2. They save a little face with masterful pontification back and forth between the two characters. Foxx is ehh as Django. Nothing special really. He could have sold the transformation from slave to cocky bounty hunter a little better.
You can tell how bad this movie really would have been by the last 30 min or so once it's just Jamie Foxx's character carrying the weight. If you're coming in to this film with more or less a 'Bastards' type spin to slavery and western vengeance, you're in for a disappointment and 3 hours of your life you'll never get back.