Review of Django Unchained (2012) by Jeje W — 11 Aug 2016

Django Unchained shows potential until the ending of the movie. At a very specific moment, Tarantino loses control of the film. As the movie derails into loud, annoying, over-the-top action, it loses any substance it may have earned. The film demonstrates the complete lack of respect Tarantino has for his audience. He expects people to enjoy gratuitous violence without any remote meaning. And sadly, looking at the success of the film, he's right.

Now it is not fair to say the whole movie was bad. While Django himself was boring and flat, Christoph Waltz was a joy to watch. But it was Leonardo DiCaprio who completely stole the show from the moment he was on screen. Great acting that fit the movie absolutely perfectly and created the best character in the film, by far.

Everyone else in the film was completely forgettable. And as to Samuel L Jackson, I was just confused. There were no explanations, no meaning, and nothing to take away from his character.

The only reason this film even deserves 2 stars is the fun, adventurous first three quarters of the movie. What could have been a four star western was wasted with boring, meaningless, violence. If westerns want to be taken seriously, it has to be done better than this.

Also, did I mention they put rap in it?

Rap, in a western. Abysmal.