Review: Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino is probably one of the best working directors today, and he is also in fact one of my favorite directors ever. When I heard that he's going to direct a spaghetti-western film and the talents involved here, it got me all excited. So was his latest outing awesome or not? Read on below.

Synopsis:

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz's search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), the proprietor of "Candyland," an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie's trusted house slave. -- (C) Weinstein


Story:
The story was written by Quentin Tarantino, and I must say I really like this revenge tale. I was kept at the edge of my seat the whole time and I can't stray my eyes away from this movie. The movie takes it time to introduce the real villain here but I never got bored with it. The introduction for the characters was well told, and in here you will really root for the lead character to succeed in the end. Although there is a lot of revenge movies nowadays, none of them was as good as this revenge flick. This movie felt refreshing and told a story like no other.

Acting:
The performances here was just phenomenal. Now I'm just going to share my opinion on the lead characters' performance. First is Jamie Foxx played Django pretty well, as I was watching the movie I can't think of anyone who could the role much better, he was able to show that you must root for his character. Next is Christoph Waltz he plays Dr. King Schultz, well this one is a no-brainer of course he will be epic here, he just stole the spotlight at every scene he's in, he is 100% perfect for the role. Next is Kerry Washington who plays Broomhilda, the wife of Django, she was good in the role but not that memorable. Now, Samuel L. Jackson was awesome as Leo DiCaprio's butler Stephen and I must say this is probably my favorite role of Jackson, he nailed this character and he was to deliver some good lines. Lastly is Leonardo DiCaprio, he plays the main villain here, a plantation owner named Calvin Candie, this is the first time that I saw him playing a villain role and in all honesty he was simply perfect for the role, he also delivered one of my favorite lines ever, "Gentlemen, you had my curiosity. But now you have my attention.", this line gave me chills. I hope that we get to see more of Leo in a villain role. As for the supporting characters, all of them delivered a good performance and also the cameos were perfect.

Action/Violence:
Can you imagine a Tarantino film that is rated PG-13? Me neither. Quentin Tarantino is best known for his violence on film, so expect this one to be as violent as all of his other films. The gunfights here were epic and in my opinion the gunfight in the last act is truly something to be remembered and is certainly one of the best gunfights in film ever.

Music:
When watching a Tarantino film, this is one aspect that I can't wait to hear. The music was pitch-perfect, the use of countries and rap songs fits really well to the movie and sets the tone to each scene. I completely loved it.

Cinematography:
One word, beautiful. The shots in this movie was perfect and it showed the true beauty of each set-pieces but there was two shots that really got my attention and those were the blood that sprayed in the flowers and the shot of Django wearing the blue cowboy suit and he's standing in the grass and about to whoop some ass.

Direction:
As I stated earlier, I never got bored with this film and in fact I never wanted this film to end. The direction of Tarantino is probably one of his best, he was able to show the gruesomeness of slavery and was also able to tell a revenge story that really makes sense. The way he made the first, second and third act was perfect and he was able to tell a lot in those acts.

Overall:
'Django Unchained' is definitely one of the best films by Quentin Tarantino. It is entertaining from start to finish with an awesome performance from the cast. The action scenes were also memorable and downright violent. This is truly a gem that one must watch. I give this a 5/5. At first, this film had my curiosity, but now it has my attention.