A Thoroughly Entertaining Movie!

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2012)

Don't go into Djano Unchained expecting a "period piece" that seriously deals with America's past and slavery. Don't go into Django thinking it's an "Oscar Movie" that has a serious chance at Best Picture. Go into it like you would go into any other Tarantino movie, because you simply want to be entertained for 2.5 hours.
From the opening credits to the closing ones it's clear this is a very "Tarantino" movie and fanboys of the man will have plenty to be excited about. The obvious homages to Sergio Leone (whom Tarantino has stated one multiple occasions is his favorite director ever), the standoffs that always seem to end differently than you predict, the hilarious and ironic use of music, and of course the dialogue. There's at least 2-3 classic Tarantino monologues in Django Unchained.
But how does the movie play for those of us like Tarantino but don't salivate every time his name is mentioned? The answer is very well. While this doesn't have the huge ensemble cast of characters we're used to from a QT movie, the 4-5 main ones provide plenty of meat for us to chew on. My biggest complaint about its that the two best characters (DiCaprio's Plantation Owner and Samuel L. Jackson's whatever you call it) don't really appear until the 3rd act.
But the dynamic between the two lead turns, Jaime Foxx as Django and Christoph Waltz as a bounty hunter disguised as a dentist, is plenty to carry the majority of the movie. Much like Waltz's Oscar-Winning turn in "Inglorious Basterds" he brings an element of comedy to the table but you also know he always has a trick up his sleeve. You feel like something crazy is going to happen every time he's on screen, and usually it does.
There's a point in the 2nd act when the movie drags a bit when it's transitioning between the first conflict (which is solved surprisingly quick) and the second one. But even when it slows down the performances of Waltz and Foxx along with feeling that you're surely headed for a classic Tarantino bloodbath is enough to keep it watchable.
Django Unchained goes from good to great once DiCaprio and Jackson pop up. From their first scenes it feels like this revenge story could explode at any moment. And eventually it does. We see the biggest and most over-the-top bloodbath of Tarantino's career (which is saying a lot) and I have no complaints about that. Maybe the movie ran 20 minutes too long but once you get to the end it won't matter because you truly will care about what happens to Django.
Django Unchained is not a perfect movie. It was probably 20-30 minutes too long. The middle dragged. It also seemed a little far-fetched for even a Tarantino movie. But none of that can take away from the fact that if you can stomach the blood, thematic elements, and language, then Django Unchained is perhaps the most fun you'll have at the movies all year. Chalk another classic up to QT's already impressive filmography.