Django Unchained Review

A very quirky and exhilarating film that is a fine return to form for Quentin Tarantino

I have to admit I'm not Quentin Tarantino's biggest fan, most keep me entertained to a certain degree, he has a certain and very unique ability to make the small details in a film seem so big, but I wouldn't bother to watch most more than once, and I still believe it's true that his best films were his earlier ones, where the budgets were far more constrained, and perhaps less cartoonish in terms of the violence. However Django Unchained is certainly one of Tarantino's finest and most daring film to hit the big screen, and follows on in a similar style to Inglorious Bastards. The film certainly showcases many of the things that you would expect from a Tarantino film, over the top violence, constant swearing, and very well rounded but witty script.

The film is set in 1858, two years before the American Civil war, around the time that the slave trade was still going on, the film first starts in Texas and then eventually to Mississippi. As the namesake suggests, the film is based on a black slave called Django (Jamie Foxx) who is freed by a bounty hunter called Dr King Schultz (Christopher Watlz), from there they begin to hunt down the Brittle brothers, as the film progresses we see the two men work together as a pair of bounty hunters, until the last half of the film where they decide to track down Django's wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who is a slave working on a plantation by the name of 'Candyland', owned by Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), it is also here that we are also introduced to Stephen (Samuel Jackson), who is a servant of sorts to Calvin Candie.

Performances are excellent all round, each actor fulfills each role with perfection, my particular favourite was DiCaprio's as the villain, not only is he menacing but fascinating at the same time, which is a rarity in most antagonists in modern day films. I honestly could not imagine other actors in their place, it's without doubt the film's strongest point.

Visually the film is superb and depicts the time it's set in as I would imagine it would be, and like all Tarantino films a snappy soundtrack is also provided, although some songs do a feel little out of place.

The gunfights in the film, although graphic can't be taken too seriously due to the sheer fact that they are so over the top and laughable at times. But there are parts where the violence is brutal, and where I actually found myself uncomfortable watching, these included whipping, a rather nasty scene involving a bunch of dogs let loose on a slave, and the historically inaccurate 'mandigo' fighting, where two slaves are made to fight one another for entertainment, there's only one scene that is shown but its so utterly brutal it was disturbing. Perhaps it's the subject of slavery that makes it so profound and hard to watch, it only reminds you that isn't too long in the past that such a cruel act of inhumanity existed.

Another aspect of the film that I also felt uncomfortable was the use of the word 'niggar', it actually felt like it was said in just about every other sentence of the script, which is understandable in the sense that it's set around the time of slavery, but what made it worse was the fact it was used in so many ways for comedic effect.

Other slight niggles at the film will include its running time, at nearly three hours long, towards the end it can get very bum numbing. But that said I was never once bored, and the film had my attention throughout, the last third of the film and the finale are when it's at it's best. Tarantino himself pops up in a small cameo role at the end, and provides one of the funniest moments in the entire film.

The film's tagline 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of vengeance' does a pretty good job of summing up the film, as revenge movies go it is one of the best I have ever seen, and for nearly three hours of escapism and entertainment, it provides great value for money and is certainly a step in the right direction for Tarantino.

Verdict- 4/5