It's all about what you're expecting

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2013)

This movie is all about what you're expecting to see. What the movie is not: it's not an exploration of the social depths of slavery, it's not a psychological film about the effects of slavery and the people who suffered, etc What it is: a comedy/action flick, mildly gory.
The good: - Waltz does an amazing role, his character is funny & witty and keeps a balance between the ruthlessness of a bounty hunter (which he thoroughly justifies) with a soft spot against slavery - there's a good balance between violence and comedy, more so than in other similar movies - it's entertaining if you're into this side of Tarantino's work (and you don't expect any underlying message) - it's in line with Tarantino's new trend of the oppressed rising against oppression (like Inglorious Basterds) which yields loads of satisfaction to see the inhuman beings punished - i loved the ending scene, with Hildi smiling (one could say it's an idiotic smile, but perfectly justified in its outstanding joy) when seeing the Candie manor blown to bits (a very thorough destruction of everything that Candie stood for) - Django's evolution from freedom and into western gunman is described well enough (half the movie dedicated to it). - Enio Morricone on the soundtrack
The bad: - everyone seems to be shooting only arteries, which gets boring fast (one shoots the same body for the 5th time and it still sprays blood two meters away? sheesh ....) - I know this is supposed to be a caricature type of exaggeration but still ... - when D'Artagnan gets ripped by dogs - it's supposed to underline Candie's brutality and ruthlessness that mirrors his pretense for "refinement", however the scene itself is sketchy, the brutality goes between gratuitous and irrelevant - hip-hop on the soundtrack (it does not fit with anything in the movie, pacing, scenes, etc) it only taints an otherwise competent soundtrack - editing is chaotic at times, scenes don't always flow smoothly