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Sunday, January 6, 2013

[9.50/10] Django Unchained (2012)



Brief review: Three years after the phenomenal "Inglourious Basterds", mastermind Quentin Tarantino shows us yet another different side of him with "Django Unchained" - a controversial  spaghetti western, riddled with subtle irony and a confronting mixture of originality and absurdity, that plays more like a spoof on slavery, rather than taking its subject matter of racism seriously. The answer to how is Tarantino capable to create a 165-minutes-long movie, full of many overextended scenes, that is still hugely entertaining every step of the way is: compelling dialogues, and tons of wit and playfulness. Yes, talkiness is this film's main strength. "Django Unchained" is also filled with over-the-top violence, outrageous manga-like gore, and exciting, almost shocking blood-soaked gunshots. Every single shooting location is chosen with flair and discernment, the smooth cinematography and warm color palette give the film a stylishly western-ish look, the intentionally clumsy super-quick zooms à la Shaw Brothers add edge to the already impressive camera work, and the fact that the film is being shot in an anamorphic format on 35 mm film, adds further authenticity and roughness to the visuals. Every performances her is award-worthy. Jamie Fox does a solid job as the slave-turned-bounty hunter Django, Christoph Waltz's delightfully nutty performance is simply amazing, Samuel L. Jackson delivers easily the best supporting performance of 2012, and all the tiny cameos are just fantastic.

Overall summary: Although certainly not the best movie in Tarantino's impressive career, "Django Unchained" is nevertheless a stylish, wittily-written, blood-filled, and wildly enjoyable near masterpiece of a spaghetti western like no other, which is destined to become a classic.

12 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Couldn't agree more. I was actually surprised how simple and straightforward the storyline was. Despite its length, it didn't feel long at all. And a few of the scenes, like the holes in the bag one, reminded me of Blazing Saddles.
I think Waltz gets the nod for best supporting as he was just brilliant.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, Waltz is amongst my favorite actors. His performance in Inglourious Basterds knocked my socks off. I knew he was going to win an Oscar for it. Having said that, I thought he was kind of outshined by Samuel Jackson's amazing performance in this one.

HorrO said...

Terrific movie and review! I almost passed at seeing it. What a mistake that would have been. Totally agree that he took a few scenes a little longer than needed. Still, an awesome film. The scene with the guys arguing about the bags on their heads almost had me fall out of my seat!

Unknown said...

I can't wait to see this. I think Leo DiCaprio should be nominated. He definitely deserves something for his performance as Candy.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

HorrO, thank you so much, pal. The film was terrific indeed, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Those scenes might be long, but they're definitely not boring.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Mel, you need to see this ASAP. It's fucking phenomenal. :)

Leo was great, but his performance wasn't the best for sure. Both Jackson and Waltz's performances were superior.

Emma said...

Django Unchained looks so good! It is on my list to watch, but it does ooze style! Enjoyed your review.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Emma, it does indeed. Thanks, glad you enjoyed my review. I hope you enjoy the movie as well. :)

Supercords said...

This will definitely be in my Top 10 for 2012--near the top. I always have high expectations going into a Tarantino film, and he always delivers. I gave this one an A-. http://movieworship.blogspot.jp/2013/01/django-unchained-2012.html

Shane

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Shane, Django is currently No. 3 at my top 10 of 2012, though I haven't posted my list yet. :)

I didn't enjoy it as much as Kill Bill or Basterds, but it was almost on-par.

Well, I guess A- equals my 9.50 :)

Thanks for the comment, Shane.

Supercords said...

I'm about ready to do an interim Top 10 list for 2012, but it will need updating as I continue to watch more films.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Shane, me too. I'll do a top 20 though... probably at the end of this month.