Django Unchained – Should I Watch It?

Intro to… Django Unchained
Tarantino’s attempt at making a Western that is dirtier than Harry. Will it be good, bad, or just ugly?

The Plot
We start our story with a group of chained slaves that are being marched throughout Texas. They are a led by the brothers Speck, slave traders, and are on their way to an auction. That is until one night when they stumble upon Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a German bounty hunter.

Schultz wants to buy Django (Jamie Foxx), who could provide help on his current assignment, but the brothers rudely decline his offer. This forces him to go for plan B: he kills one of them and injures the other. Schultz then forces a legal transaction and leaves the wounded man at the mercy of the other slaves.

Django has no idea about what is going on and is visually confused, so Schultz takes him to a bar and explains why he bought him. He is currently in pursuit of the infamous Brittle Brothers, but since he does not know how they look like he needs Django to identify them for him. Personally, he despises slavery, but he needs Django’s help. And owning him makes getting his help a lot easier. So they make a deal. Django travels with Schultz until his they have killed the infamous Brittle Brothers and after that he can consider himself a free man.

Should I Watch It?
Django Unchained is a western as you have not seen before. Not only centres it around a black protagonist and a jolly German, but the entire look of the movie makes it feel elevated compared to most westerns. The story is intriguing, the action is great, and the dialogue is amazing. The characters are unique and diverse, and all of it shot very well.

Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz both give stellar performances. Foxx plays a very convincing Django. He transforms from a confused and desperate slave into a confident, intelligent, and kick-ass bounty hunter. He alone would have made the movie remarkable, but Waltz puts down an even more extraordinary performance and makes Dr. King Schultz one of the most memorable characters in cinematic history. His speech and mannerisms steal every scene he is in. To top this off, we also have Leonardo DiCaprio pretty much playing an evil Texan version of himself.

If I am honest I was not looking forward to watching this movie for one simple reason: Quentin Tarantino. I have nothing against the man, in fact I think very highly of him for always doing his own thing and for not listening to people that think they can tell him what and what not to do. See, as a teenager I did not like his movies. I thought the characters were too over the top and thought that his directing style was too excessive. But now, many years later, I appreciate unique characters more and more. And Django Unchained has plenty of them. This film does not only make me want to recommend it, it has also convinced me to give the previous Tarantino movies another chance. Expect some reviews in the future.

Yes, watch it.

Hi guys, I hope you enjoyed reading this review. If you have any comments on this movie or suggestions for future reviews please let me know via the comment section below. Until next time!