Django Unchained

Django Unchained

Rated R and Released 12/25/12

Reviewed 12/26/12 at Celebration Cinema North in Grand Rapids, MI

with Gary, Denny and Aaron

3 1/2 out of 5 Js in QUIET Rating System

Django is for sure a guy's movie. It is about American slavery and if you know anything about director Quentin Tarantino, violence and more violence holds true. Tarantino always weaves humorous scenes throughout. He is a mastermind of the plot, like Inglourious Basterds, and fans won't be disappointed. At 2 hours and 46 minutes, I would say any movie is pushing it too far at this time, so that is a deduction for me. Aaron and Gary gave it a big thumbs up and my dad felt it was too violent for a full endorsement.

Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx are respectively, Dr. King Schultz and Django who is a freed slave. Django hooks up with the former dentist Dr. Schultz after the doctor acquires him from a chain gang trekking across the country. Both characters blow it out of the water with their performances, especially Waltz. He was amazing. The movie is set in 1858, two years before the Civil War began with the quest  to end slavery. Dr. Schultz has a new lucrative profession of bounty hunting and he trains Django to be an expert gunslinger and convinces him to join him. It's one adventure after another with this dynamic duo. They eventually seek out a low-life rich plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) in search of Django's wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who is valuable as a german-speaking slave. DiCaprio is also spectacular in this role but his character is vile. Samuel L. Jackson plays head butler to Candie and the two of them are so despicable together in their exploits. The violence in this movie is very typical of Tarantino and excessive to the limit. There wasn't much I could really watch with both eyes open. I couldn't help but say to myself "thank goodness for President Lincoln" because the graphic display of abuse of human beings is hard to get past. Even with stating that, this movie has all the qualities of spectacular filmmaking. The humor, the story line, and the acting performances will make this another Tarantino hit.

QUIET Rating system:

Quality: JJJJ

Understood story:  JJJJ

Interest: JJJJ

Entertainment:  JJJ

Time:  JJ