Review of Django Unchained (2012) by Gimmedatsammich — 27 Dec 2012

Django Unchained is Quentin Tarantino's homage to the spaghetti westerns of the 60's- with a hefty dollop of marinara on top, in true QT fashion. Jamie Foxx is the title character, a slave rescued from servitude by a German bounty hunter, Dr.

King Schultz (Christopher Waltz). In exchange for helping him track down and kill various wanted men, Schulz agrees to help Django rescue his enslaved wife (Kerry Washington) from Candyland, a plantation owned by the sadistic Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio.

) Tarantino has a knack for bringing out the best in actors, and DiCaprio in particular shines among a field of diamonds, playing Candie with marvelous antebellum gusto. Samuel L. Jackson said he wanted to play the most hated Negro in cinematic history, and he most certainly gets his wish here.

Stephen, Calvin's racist house slave, is a truly despicable character, in a movie filled with them. This is an extremely violent film: fountains of blood erupt onto the screen during gunfights; a runaway slave is torn apart by a pack of dogs; eyes are poked out; skulls are bashed in.

None of this should surprise anyone who has seen either of the Kill Bill movies. If gratuitous violence bothers you, do not watch this. I wasn't bothered, though. All the violence is directed towards slave owners and their enablers, and, frankly, they deserve to die.

Even if you're an adamant pacifist, you can't deny Tarantino's virtuosity. His style of film making is just so fun to watch. The dialogue is a joy to listen to, as is the music. Even when an anachronistic rap song starts playing, you don't mind because, somehow, it fits right alongside the flamboyant guitar instrumentals and Johnny Cash's god-fearing country.

Django Unchained, though simplistic and borderline cartoonish at times, is a supremely satisfying piece of film-making. Movie buffs rejoice: Tarantino is back, and he's not pulling any punches.