Review of Django Unchained (2012) by Seancriswell — 29 Dec 2012

Not everything in Tarantino's filmography can be as good as Pulp Fiction or Basterds. For me Django falls a little short of those lofty expectations, but a pretty good Tarantino film is better than most movies in any given year.

Django is gonna get a lot of comparisons to Basterds because they are both revenge fantasies at their core. While that may not be fair it is natural given the very similar plot arcs. While I still think I would have preferred Bastreds if it had been made second because of two of the best scenes ever put into film, it is hard to say because Django did feel familiar while Basterds felt like something you had never seen before.

There is still plenty to love about the movie. As usual this film is very dialogue driven with biting humor and some dark overtones. Nobody in film ever uses dialogue to build tension like Tarantino and there is plenty of that at work here.

Performances are great almost across the board, especially Waltz and Dicaprio. Foxx gives a nice, understated performance as Django. My only beef with the performances was surprisingly Jackson. Although I think that is more a product of the character than his performance.

If the usual Tarantino stylized violence is your cup of tea, there is enough of it on display here to get your fill. For me this movie goes off the rails just a bit in the final third. I never felt like Tarantino knew how to end this film and it ended uo being the weak link in another very good Tarantino vehicle.