Enjoyable, but just don't seem very Tarantinoish

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2013)

This starts out like a typical gritty, unconventional Quentin Tarantino movie. No rules, no clichés and fully reliant on mood, script and superb acting. It sets the stage for the rest of the film. But then it kind of goes off track after the Saloon scene, but this doesn't deter from the quality of the film, it just feels a little less like a Tarantino movie.
Waltz and Di Caprio are just superb in their roles. Foxx holds his own, but you can tell his role was meant to be for someone else.
The final 3/4 of this film really is quite clichéd and muddled. A little predictable, and slightly lazy. Yes the script is razor sharp, acted superbly, and I haven't heard a better script all year, but it still felt a little laboured and that a few scenes were picked out of a hat and just thrown in. The bag head scene is hilarious, but it looked like they plucked it from Blazing Saddles and threw it in. I can't fault it because it made me laugh, but in all honesty it didn't need to be in the movie.
There are moments where QT shows his magic, like the dinner scene with Candie, Schultz and Django ... That is classic Tarantino, and I loved that scene. The saloon scene in the beginning is also brilliantly put together and Waltz outdoes himself and deserves his Oscar for that alone. But the rest of the film just plods along with no real direction.
Sam Jackson's character is also quite a laughable one, virtually mocking himself. He knows the character is a joke, so he does his best to play it out that way.
But overall, the film is just popcorn fun. Top quality script, acting, sets and the final shootout is QT at his glorious and hilariously over the top best. It's not his best (still think Reservoir Dogs needs topping) but certainly not his worst