Django Unchained - K

            With the combination of great acting in Jamie Foxx and Christopher Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, including Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson, with writer/director Quentin Tarantino how could anything go wrong with Django Unchained?

Okay, to be fair, nothing “went wrong.”  Let’s start with…

Acting:  Hands down, the casting was perfect.  Jamie Fox played his freed slave/bounty hunter part amazingly well “Kill white people and get paid for it?  What’s not to like?” Waltz was believable and delivered his dry lines with perfect timing “My good man, did you simply get carried away with your dramatic gesture or are you pointing your weapon at me with lethal intent?”  As for Samuel L. Jackson…he was unrecognizable as himself playing the slave Stephen.  During the movie, the character Stephen’s voice bugged me because it was so familiar but I couldn't place him, it was only at the end of the movie that I remembered, wait, Samuel L. Jackson is supposed to be in this movie…was that him?!  To top it off, Kerry Washington playing Broomhilda over and above supports my declaration that the casting was just perfect.

 

No, I’m not forgetting our other player in the movie, “Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, now have you my attention.”  The thing I like about Dicaprio, what I find so amazing about him is that in each role he plays, I see his character, not him.  DiCaprio acts so well that he doesn't need all the makeup and magic to become someone else, the way they changed Samuel L. Jackson.  In any movie you watch, DiCaprio truly is that person he is playing.  And Django Unchained is no different; DiCaprio embodies Calvin Candie with every word, every gesture every facial expression.

Plot: Quentin Tarantino writes a tight story.  Django Unchained is free of big nasty plot holes and is genuinely, if not wholly unique, a refreshingly different story of a man separated from his wife, intent on getting her back.  Having the mentor in the good Dr. King Shultz is a great way to introduce Django to, not just another way of life, living a life without rage. 

Overall: The line from Boondock Saints “There was a firefight!” applies more to the ending of Django Unchained than it even does to Saints, bullets and bodies flying everywhere.  Made for an exciting ending, but my problem was by that time I was already bored.  And yet, the movie was fantastic, and I enjoyed it.  If you’re wondering how that is, you’re joining me.  It was a very well made, well put together movie, and incredibly acted on top of it all.  My guess is that I just wasn't in the mood for it when we went but I wanted so badly to see it in theatre that I disregarded my mood.  With over two and a half hours of movie, that’s a bad idea. 

Would I recommend this?  Definitely.  Would I see it again in theatre (for a re-release in five years…)?  Sure!  But I’d gauge my mood better.  Buy it?  Well, we don’t buy anything lately, so not I, but if you even think you’ll like it, you likely will.  Re-watch at home with rental/DVD/cable, etc..?  Probably if I can be multi-tasking.  Important question: Do I regret seeing it even though I was bored?  Not at all!  Still loved it!

PS: As for all the detractors who talk about any aspect of the movie just being a horrible representation of slavery etc. "…everyone was just a caricature..." the movie never once tried to take itself seriously, so lay off.