My thoughts on Django Unchained *Spoilers*

Let me preface this by saying that I am one of the biggest Tarantino fans there is. He is my favorite director of all time (not best, my favorite). I get very excited for his movies, because he and I share many cinematic ideals.

I will ignore the historical inaccuracies (mandingo fighting, anachronistic weapons, KKK presence, etc) because almost all spaghetti westerns ignore historical accuracy, and because Tarantino has previously shown in IB that he disregards accuracy. The movie just didn't feel like a Tarantino movie. In Tarantino's cinematic world of clever dialogue, colorful supporting characters, and wonderful writing, Django's dialogue was dry, there were only 3-4 great characters, and there was a notable lack of memorable scenes like The Jimmy Situation, the Bar scene from IB, the Mexican standoff from Reservoir Dogs, etc.

Dicaprio absolutely killed it. He was an amazing villain and had all of the intangibles you want in a great villain. I found myself sad when he died, which shows how great he was. Samuel L Jackson was very good as well, embodying all of the bad stereotypes of a good minion. Waltz was superb as usual, and he's proven that he can deliver QT's dialogue like no other. In smaller roles, Walton Goggins and James Remar were awesome.

The other characters, however, were disappointing (in my opinion). Besides the guys played by the aforementioned actors, the characters were pretty typical of regular hollywood. They were too "cardboard" for me, the majority serving as bullet sponges. I was also disappointed in the portrayal of Southerners. There was not an observably redeemable quality about any of them (barring Dicaprio) and I felt like they were used as a "Nazi villain," a villain that everyone can detest.

I loved the Dining Room scene and the handshake scene. Those were vintage Tarantino. I enjoyed the second and third acts more than the first.

Given the words written above, you would probably think I hated the movie. You would be dead wrong in that assumption. I loved the movie. It was very entertaining; I found myself laughing my arse off, cringing in disgust, and basking in the brutal glory at the end. Good movies make people feel an array of emotions, and DU definitely succeeded at that. The shootouts were great tributes to Peckinpah, and the opening scene with the Django song was vintage Spaghetti Western. The point of this review was this: Don't go in expecting a typical Tarantino movie. You won't get it. It does't have the typical Tarantino trademarks, but his style is apparent. It is a fun movie and should keep you entertained, no matter what your film preferences are. I will probably go see it again with some buddies of mine that haven't gone yet.

In determining a movie's quality, I use a simplistic method in which I ask myself "Does the good outweigh the bad?" In Django, the good weighs a metric ton, and the bad only weighs a few pounds. Everyone, do yourself a favor and go see it. You will be very happy you did. I realize that the majority of my complaints are due to a lack of "QT things," and for that, I apologize. I made the mistake of hyping it up so much in my head as a Tarantino movie that I totally set myself up for disappointment, and it's nigh impossible to overcome at this point. Don't hype it up in your head because of Tarantino, because you will not enjoy it as much. At first I was kind of mad, but as it has soaked in, I've definitely been able to look and appreciate for what it's worth: A fun, exhilarating, and emotional tribute to a classic genre.

Thank y'all for reading. I'm sorry it's too long. Let me know what y'all think after viewing.