Django Unchained

When I first watched Django Unchained I was simply blown away! Easily an early contender for movie of the year. It goes somewhere 21st century Hollywood producers are scared to look, they refuse to even look at the slavery idea due to its sensitivity. After watching one of Tarantino's first films (From Dusk Till Dawn) I thought he must have been raised by the Munsters! However he was able to come out with two classics in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, immediately becoming a household name. Django, however, is by far his masterpiece. After the semi disappointment of Inglorious Basterds, he has come back with this brilliant, brutal, ball busting western classic!

Set two years before the American civil war when slavery was at its worst, Tarantino takes us into the cruel, unforgiving story of Django. A slave who whilst being transported across Texas comes into meeting with a mysterious German, Dr King Schultz, who is played fantastically with swagger, audacity and cheek by Christopher Waltz. Claiming to be a dentist Schultz promises Django his freedom in order for a favour: tracking three slave traders with whom he has problems with.

Jamie Foxx manages to capture Django's character with absolute perfection, you see his progression from being stared at whilst on a horse, to being known as the fastest gun in the west. (His gun skills do seem to improve rather drastically) Leonardo Di Caprio is equally as impressive playing the grey toothed, ignorant Candie, but doesn't have the same on screen presence and charisma as Foxx does playing Django, who manages to carry off the cowboy style with an ultimate swagger.

Samuel L Jackson received a lot of accolade for his performance of Stephen. The loyal servant to his white master, who you feel has played dirty and cheated his way to position of the 'favourite servant.' You feel as though the part of Stephen was made for Jackson who has a deathly stare and that terrible Parkinson's- type tremor. He also manages to deliver the N-word with more presence than anyone else saying it and everyone is saying it! Tarantino has managed to make the perfect bad guy with Stephen, not the white master who you expect it off, but a 'mandingo' someone who is involved in the trading of fighter slaves.

Django Unchained is one of the best films I have ever seen, it is in my top 5! It has a fantastic storyline and certainly opens your eyes to the terrible time of Western slavery. You have to give enormous credit to Quentin Tarantino, for making such a good film about a delicate subject, even dealing with a controversial issue like the KKK to make it seem so light hearted. he has some balls!

My Rating: 10/10

Directors: Quentin Tarantino    Cast: Amber Tamblyn, Bruce Dern, Christoph Waltz, Don Johnson, James Russo, Jamie Foxx, Jonah Hill, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kerry Washington, Kurt Russell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Carradine, Samuel L Jackson, Zoe Bell