"Kill white people and get paid for it? What's not to like?"
Django Unchained is a new movie written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Now, I was super hyped for this movie from the instant I learned that Tarantino was creating a western, and even more so when the list of actors involved came out. Christoph Waltz was fantastic last time he collaborated with Tarantino, Leonardo DeCaprio is one of my favourite actors, and I seem to remember seeing Samuel L. Jackson play some minor role in one of Tarantino's earlier movies (...), so I was absolutely stoked to see these guys work together.
The movie takes place a few years prior to the American Civil War, and it's about a slave called Django, played by Jamie Foxx, who was separated from his wife when the two of them tried to escape from the plantation they used to work at. Django teams up with former dentist turned bounty hunter Dr. King Shultz, played by Christoph Waltz, and the two go on a rampage, killing white criminals and collecting their bounty. Django chooses to help Dr. Shultz because he enjoys getting revenge for the terrible things white people have done to him over the years, and because the former dentist promises to help Django free his wife from her owner Calwin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCapro.
Now, I'm someone who believes in talking plainly, so I'm just gonna say it; I felt disappointed after watching this movie. Admittedly the acting is out of this world fantastic, the action scenes are incredibly tense, the comedic scenes are comedic gold and the dialogue is as good as only Tarantino can make it, but I went into this movie with the wrong expectations, and realised it too late. To me, the plot is too weak. I do get the whole revenge aspect of this movie, but I really didn't feel like that was enough for a 2 hour and 45 minute movie. The length didn't bother me at all, I love long movies, but that one story arch of Django wanting to avenge his wife getting taken from him, just doesn't cut it for me. It was too linear and predictable and there were no surprises or twisting turns.
I also didn't feel a thing for any of the main characters. In Kill Bill I rooted the shit out of Uma Thurman and totally dug her desire for revenge, but in Django Unchained, I just could not feel the same for Django. In Inglorious Basterds, Cal. Hans Landa was such an asshole and such a racist that you couldn't help your jaw dropping every time he opened his mouth, and even though Leo did an amazing job as the racist douchebag in Django, I just didn't connect with him at all. This goes for all the characters, for some reason I just didn't care whether they lived or died, no matter how awesomely acted they were.
Speaking of acting, I do want to give credit where credit's due. Samuel L. Jackson plays this old slave called Stephen owned by Calwin Candie, and he's just SUCH and ASSHOLE to the good guys in this movie. He totally brown noses Leo, and it's extremely entertaining hearing him drop the n-bomb twice in every sentence. Now that I think about it, he actually reminds me of Jules from Pulp Fiction, just from the way he talks. Then again, Jules had some awesome character progression throughout the movie he was in, something Stephen has none of, just like the other characters from Django Unchained. He is entertaining as hell, though.
Christoph Waltz also did a great job in this movie, albeit not as good as in Basterds, but still worthy of an oscar nomination. ALso, just because I didn't connect with Leo DeCaprio and Foxx's characters doesn't mean i think they did a bad job, far from it actually. Leonardo got snubbed off the oscar nomination in my opinion, and I would have liked to see Foxx get one as well, even though I get why he didn't end up getting one, considering how many outstanding performances by leading actors we have seen this year.
The comedic scenes are also something I want to touch upon. Of cause, as it is always the case with Tarantino movies, Django Unchained had some of the funniest moments I've seen all year. One scene in particular stands out; the mask scene. I believe no one who's seen it will disagree with me when I say that if there was an academy award for most hilarious scene of the year, this one would have won, guaranteed. The violence in this movie is also incredibly graphic and bloody, so think twice before bringing your kids to see Django Unchained, but just like the r-rated language, that's kinda what we have come to expect from Tarantino.
In the end I guess I just went into this movie with the wrong expectations. Had I expected an easy to watch, entertaining and mindless movie without too much focus on the plot, I probably would have had the time of my life. Tarantino really is a man unchained when directing movies, and I do see why people would think this is one his better ones, if seen from the right angle. Had I watched the movie without expecting it to be something more than it was, I probably would have given it the rating of worth buying on BluRay, just because of the entertainment factor, but judging by how i felt when i left the theatre, about the weak plot and awesomely acted yet unrelatable characters, I'll have to settle with giving it my seal of approval. (4/6)
Django Unchained IMDb page here
Django Unchained trailer here
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