Review of Django Unchained (2012) by Alex M — 09 Dec 2014

Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained is one of his more recent works of cinematic art. The plot is original; the cast is well-known, and viewers will never get bored throughout the film, even though it is almost three hours long. Basically, the film is about a slave named Django, portrayed by Jamie Foxx, who teams up with a "dentist"/bounty hunter, Dr. Schultz, played by Christoph Waltz. Django becomes a free man and helps Dr. Schultz find bounties, so the two become great associates. Schultz teaches Django about how bounty hunting works and how to shoot a gun. While getting to know each other, Schultz finds out about Django and his wife being split up after trying to run away to the North. Django and Schultz set out and find Django's wife Broomhilda, who is played by Kerry Washington, and find out she is at Calvin Candie's (Leonardo DiCaprio) plantation. Making and executing an elaborate plan, Django gets his wife back, yet at the cost of many, many lives. The ending leaves the moviegoers with a sense of satisfaction and happiness but with a hint of sadness. Tarantino won many awards, including two Oscars, which means that he really outdoes himself with this film (IMDb).

The acting in this film is crisp, fresh, and not to mention Oscar worthy. In the scene when DiCaprio's Calvin Candie finds out of Schultz's real intentions behind being at his plantation, he holds Broomhilda hostage with a saw. DiCaprio slams his hand on the table and breaks a glass cup, consequently, cutting his hand. Nonetheless, DiCaprio never breaks character, continues his role, and even goes as far as to smear his own real blood on Kerry Washington's shocked face. Also, this scene was not scripted. Kerry Washington was appalled by this action and you can see it in her face (Rosen). Many people would have stopped what they were doing to go get their wound checked out, especially a cut that needed stitches, yet DiCaprio continued his role as Mr. Candie. By the way, DiCaprio's cut did need a few stitches. This great scene was able to be produced because of one little accident of a glass breaking. Another example of great acting is when Dr. Schultz says goodbye to Mr. Candie after giving him $12,000. He refuses to shake Candie's hand and walks away, but Candie will not let him leave without shaking hands. Schultz reluctantly returns and shoots Candie dead. The acting in this scene makes Waltz seem as if he really despises DiCaprio in real life. His general walk of loathsome behavior, furiously shaky tone in his voice, and even fluid actions seem as if he could not wait to pretend shoot DiCaprio. His expression, which consisted of pursed lips and eyebrows bent in the angry position, is just one of great hatred. His overall acting in this scene is first class.

The special effects of every scene made this movie a great deal more entertaining. During the shootout at the Candie residence, Django skillfully shoots many of Candie's henchman to the point of leaving them in pieces. The bodies lie around in agony with blood all over them was like something out of a crime scene. About ten bodies are stacked in the center of the Candie mansion, and most of these bodies have holes as big as a person's fist. When the characters are shooting each other, pieces of flesh fly in all directions, which would explain the giant holes that I mentioned previously, and the flesh that is being blown off seems extremely realistic because of the motions that it goes through while in the air. All of these effects add to the movie's entertainment in that it keeps the viewer from becoming bored by all of the action. The elements of action are heightened in the scene where Django shoots a person's belt, which contains dynamite, and the person just blows up and causes dust to fly everywhere. The guy that blows up just disappears into a cloud of dirt and smoke. After the dust settles, there is fire and a giant burn mark around the area where the dynamite goes off. Audiences are left in awe after viewing this because of the fact that dynamite would actually cause all of this damage. The special effects make the movie much more memorable and entertaining.

The music in this movie is extremely varied and fits the movie well. The song "Django", composed by Rocky Roberts, is played when introducing Django in the opening scene. It shows Django, along with a few other slaves, being led through the desert. The song fits well because of the fact that it has a "western" tune to it, and it doubles by actually introducing the protagonist. In the scene when everyone is traveling to the Candie plantation, the song "100 Black Coffins" by Rick Ross plays. It happens to play right after a tense moment between Django and one of Candie's henchmen. The song gives the film a more modern feel to the movie, making it more appealing to the younger audiences, but it also foreshadows events that are going to happen. The music choice is different than any other film of this kind; it brings a modern and compelling feel to the scenes.

Django Unchained is added to the long list of Quentin Tarantino's movie masterpieces. His actors being committed to keeping the scenes going no matter what and the special effects make this movie one of the best of the year 2012. This movie will forever be remembered in the history of movie making.