LogFAQs > #957715768

Inviso: Quentin Tarantino is just a genius when it comes to crafting action movies, but also crafting characters when hes in charge of writing the stories hes directing. It would be so easy for a nearly three-hour long movie to drag on, yet at no point during Django Unchained did this film ever feel like it was taking too long, or like it was lingering on a scene more than necessary. The character work, at least for the four characters I would consider main characters, was exceptionally good. Calvin Candie is odious, yet unnecessarily arrogant, in a way coming across like an older version of Game of Thrones Joffrey. Likewise, Steven is vile in his own way, cold and calculating after years of building up a good life in the main house. Meanwhile, Schultz is a delightful bounty hunter who manages to be both extremely skilled, yet kind-hearted all the same, ultimately to his detriment. And then Django himself is just such a cool, calm and collected character, slowly building himself up as this masterful hero, even going so far as to prove his wiles in the films climactic escape. In the end, everything about Django Unchained was brilliantly-executed, and I really enjoyed it.

Johnbobb: I knew going in that short of one of these films being miraculously impressive, the Tarantinos were going to end up on top. Tarantino was already one of my favorite directors prior to his western doublepack, but they just further cemented. Django Unchained might honestly be my favorite of his (though last year's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is close). Finally getting to see the original Django as part of this list only made me appreciate that one this much more. Every character is memorable, and either infinitely lovable or despicably hateable with no in-between. Kerry Washington covering her ears as she watches the mansion explode with glee is one of my favorite movie moments of the last decade.

Karo: A former slave teams up with a bounty hunter in an attempt to break the record for the most uses of the n-word in a single film.
Django stands out among Tarantino's protagonists in that he isnt an asshole scumbag nor has the sociopathic need to paint the walls red with the blood of everyone who wronged him (yes Django does get revenge on the slavemasters in this movie, but it wasnt what he was primarily after and that is an important distinction).
As a result Django is a real and compelling character who goes from bondage for being the fastest gun in the west in a manner the is believable and relatable. That isn't even getting to Dr. Schultz, who steals every scene in the movie up until his untimely demise following some of the most badass final words ever.
This film avoids falling into the rut of Tarantino's worst attributes, and indeed it is his best movie by far. It mercifully has almost nothing to do with the old Django movie despite the title because fuck that shit.

KBM: Now this is one of my favorite Tarantino movies. All of his tendencies his brilliant ear for dialogue, his penchant for over-the-top violence, his general unflinching approach to everything he does all of it is basically perfect for this film. Leo DiCaprio is the one who really steals the show here, and it is of course one of the most obvious in a long line of movies he really SHOULD have won an Oscar for before he finally got it for The Revenant. That being said, it also includes one of Jamie Foxx's best performances since Ray, as well as an underrated turn from Kerry Washington. Undoubtedly controversial (like many of Tarantino's films), in this case more than perhaps any of his other films, the over-the-top-ness feels totally justified and earned to me partially because of the obvious satire of it all, though of course with a markedly different satirical tone than, say, Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles.

CoolCly: Dr Shulz had a great intro. From this alone I knew that despite being inspired by Django, which I hated, that this would be a much better movie.

Django here is great character here though with a great purpose. Its fun seeing him learn and grow throughout the movie. He has a lot of skill, cunning, and talent, the only thing hes missing is knowledge and education, which Shulz is happy to provide.

There are some downsides though I just didn't want to watch a lot of the stuff happening with slaves a lot of the time, though Samuel L Jackson did a GREAT job portraying a very bad guy who perpetrates the abuse against those below him.

I liked the way Shulz finally took out Leo, but it felt like that scene felt awkward and rushed. Once Candie revealed that he know what they were up to and owned them, it felt like the movie didnt know quite how to move forward, so it just rushed into the handshake, then it was suddenly a video game with tons and tons of armed men crawling out of the walls, which had A TON of what I dont like in Tarantino movies the completely over the top blood explosions whenever someone is shot.

Django coming back "unchained" was pretty fun and satisfying though

8/10

Poke: Solid performances from Leo, Samuel, and Christoph. Entertaining, funny, stylish. Its Tarantino doing Tarantino things.
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Bear Bro
The Empire of Silence