Django Unchained (B+ or 3/4 stars)
After taking on crime (Pulp Fiction), Samurai swordplay (Kill Bill), & Nazis (Inglourious Basterds), writer/director Quentin Tarantino now gives us a Western/Blaxploitation hybrid flick with his own unique spin and it's called 'Django Unchained'. This movie is alternately great, (Leo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz), good (production values, dialogue), and bad (gruesome violence, too-lengthy scenes). So, you know, in other words ... it's your typical Tarantino flick.
The film opens in 1858 Texas with the unorthodox purchase of a slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), by a dentist-turned-bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Waltz). Since Schultz doesn't believe in slavery, and because he specifically needs Django to lead him to his next bounty, he frees Django & the 2 become friends & partners in Schultz's deadly business. After honing his already impressive bounty skills, and after a very profitable winter, they head over to Mississippi where their goal is to find & rescue Django's wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who he lost to the slave trade years ago. Django & Schultz's search ultimately leads them to ruthless Calvin Candie (DiCaprio), the proprietor of an infamous plantation called "Candyland". Exploring the grounds under false pretenses, Django & Schultz mishapedly arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie's trusted house slave. And, well, the sh*t ... er, blood ... hits the fan.
Ha! Only Tarantino could come up with such a wild smorgasbord of ingredients combining a spaghetti Western, Old South slavery, German lore, rap music, '60s/'70s character actor cameos ... and make it somehow work. Dissimilar to Tarantino's Kill Bill & Inglourious Basterds, there is an underlying silliness to 'Django Unchained' that doesn't quite derail the severity of what the film is talking about ... SLAVERY & RACISM ... but it comes enticingly & dangerously close. The script tosses around "the n-word" with reckless abandon. Rednecks can be found everywhere (including a host of fun cameos, like Don Johnson). And crimes against humanity are thrown around equally. i.e., whites, blacks, women ... they all give & receive racist remarks; they all get blown to smitherines in equal measure. Hey, this is a Tarantino Western: people will be cursing, blood will be splattered, & explosions are aplenty.
A tricky aspect of this movie is being okay with the fact that Tarantino - in some ways - parodies slavery. Samuel L. Jackson's character, a black man who doesn't mind slavery & who doesn't like blacks, is a prime example. There's also an intentionally-humorous scene with the KKK. Yet despite the irreverent tone of the film, and despite me thinking it goes a bit overboard, 'Django...' actually does a good job depicting the brutality of slavery in (graphic) ways that we don't normally see.
As usual, Tarantino takes rambunctious scenes of revenge, romance, political incorrectness, mayhem, & gore and transforms them into moments of blunt hilarity. Despite the occasional too-brutal parts of the script, this movie includes some of the best laugh aloud scenes of any 2012 offering. One of the other strengths of Tarantino films is the way his love of movies permeates the screen; from throw-away lines to more obvious nods (such as the '70s-styled opening credits).
And as usual, Tarantino's penchant for witty repartee & dazzling dialogues are ever-present.
As the dentist-turned-bounty hunter, Christoph Waltz speaks his mind eloquently yet dangerously. In fact, his character has the same cunning sense of humor as his villainous Landa (from Inglourious Basterds). But he's a hero in this film, with warmth & a moral compass. Jamie Foxx's Django is filled with rage, but he keeps it subdued; unleashing it at just the right moments. DiCaprio's villainous turn really suits him, disappearing into a loathsome man of privilege who puts little value on anyone other than his own. And Tarantino-fave Sam Jackson reminds us again how electrifying he can be; he is also the source of many hysterical moments.
Quentin Tarantino can be hit & miss with me; though, that record has been mostly hit as of late. Waltz owns the 1st hour of this film. DiCaprio dominates the middle hour. And while Foxx is a presence throughout, he really only gets to shine in the last 1/2 hour. Now, my biggest complaint with this film is that while it all ends exactly how you want it to ... the air really goes out of the balloon (so to speak) with those 30 minutes remaining. That was disappointing. And as mentioned, the bloodbaths on display feel a tad exploitative, at times. However, with Inglourious Basterds & now 'Django Unchained', Tarantino has found an agreeable mix of serious entertainment, black comedy, & controversy that, while still overlong (this film is 163 minutes!), rewards us viewers with time well spent.
The film opens in 1858 Texas with the unorthodox purchase of a slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), by a dentist-turned-bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Waltz). Since Schultz doesn't believe in slavery, and because he specifically needs Django to lead him to his next bounty, he frees Django & the 2 become friends & partners in Schultz's deadly business. After honing his already impressive bounty skills, and after a very profitable winter, they head over to Mississippi where their goal is to find & rescue Django's wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who he lost to the slave trade years ago. Django & Schultz's search ultimately leads them to ruthless Calvin Candie (DiCaprio), the proprietor of an infamous plantation called "Candyland". Exploring the grounds under false pretenses, Django & Schultz mishapedly arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie's trusted house slave. And, well, the sh*t ... er, blood ... hits the fan.
Ha! Only Tarantino could come up with such a wild smorgasbord of ingredients combining a spaghetti Western, Old South slavery, German lore, rap music, '60s/'70s character actor cameos ... and make it somehow work. Dissimilar to Tarantino's Kill Bill & Inglourious Basterds, there is an underlying silliness to 'Django Unchained' that doesn't quite derail the severity of what the film is talking about ... SLAVERY & RACISM ... but it comes enticingly & dangerously close. The script tosses around "the n-word" with reckless abandon. Rednecks can be found everywhere (including a host of fun cameos, like Don Johnson). And crimes against humanity are thrown around equally. i.e., whites, blacks, women ... they all give & receive racist remarks; they all get blown to smitherines in equal measure. Hey, this is a Tarantino Western: people will be cursing, blood will be splattered, & explosions are aplenty.
A tricky aspect of this movie is being okay with the fact that Tarantino - in some ways - parodies slavery. Samuel L. Jackson's character, a black man who doesn't mind slavery & who doesn't like blacks, is a prime example. There's also an intentionally-humorous scene with the KKK. Yet despite the irreverent tone of the film, and despite me thinking it goes a bit overboard, 'Django...' actually does a good job depicting the brutality of slavery in (graphic) ways that we don't normally see.
As usual, Tarantino takes rambunctious scenes of revenge, romance, political incorrectness, mayhem, & gore and transforms them into moments of blunt hilarity. Despite the occasional too-brutal parts of the script, this movie includes some of the best laugh aloud scenes of any 2012 offering. One of the other strengths of Tarantino films is the way his love of movies permeates the screen; from throw-away lines to more obvious nods (such as the '70s-styled opening credits).
And as usual, Tarantino's penchant for witty repartee & dazzling dialogues are ever-present.
As the dentist-turned-bounty hunter, Christoph Waltz speaks his mind eloquently yet dangerously. In fact, his character has the same cunning sense of humor as his villainous Landa (from Inglourious Basterds). But he's a hero in this film, with warmth & a moral compass. Jamie Foxx's Django is filled with rage, but he keeps it subdued; unleashing it at just the right moments. DiCaprio's villainous turn really suits him, disappearing into a loathsome man of privilege who puts little value on anyone other than his own. And Tarantino-fave Sam Jackson reminds us again how electrifying he can be; he is also the source of many hysterical moments.
Quentin Tarantino can be hit & miss with me; though, that record has been mostly hit as of late. Waltz owns the 1st hour of this film. DiCaprio dominates the middle hour. And while Foxx is a presence throughout, he really only gets to shine in the last 1/2 hour. Now, my biggest complaint with this film is that while it all ends exactly how you want it to ... the air really goes out of the balloon (so to speak) with those 30 minutes remaining. That was disappointing. And as mentioned, the bloodbaths on display feel a tad exploitative, at times. However, with Inglourious Basterds & now 'Django Unchained', Tarantino has found an agreeable mix of serious entertainment, black comedy, & controversy that, while still overlong (this film is 163 minutes!), rewards us viewers with time well spent.