Review: Django Unchained- Chain Yourselves in, Lads, it’s a Good One!

Django Unchained is one juicy mother of a movie, and I’d expect no less from writer/director Quentin Tarantino. If you like Tarantino’s style of wild and thoughtful film-making, you’re sure to love this one. Django is violent, extremely bloody, and has a unique story wrapped up with some overly verbose scenes. My usual complaint about a Tarantino film is that there’s way too much needless talking, but that wasn’t as big of an issue for me this time- the story felt stronger and more relatable, and much of the chit-chat seemed more purposeful than his characters’ usual discussions of tipping habits and the like.

The film touches on sensitive issues from American history following Django (Jamie Foxx), a freed slave, on a journey to rescue his wife from a plantation. It takes place a couple of years before the Civil War, and Tarantino doesn’t sugar-coat the setting at all. There’s an abundance of offensive language, deplorable acts, and ill treatment of black people as well as a “kill all the white people because they’re evil” mentality. It’s not a particularly fun film to watch, and really made me sad to think that anything like this happened in the past, but the truth behind it makes it that much stronger.

All the main actors-Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo DiCaprio- put on amazing performances. Here we have four very strong actors playing distinctly different roles from what we’re used to, and the audience is better for it. Samuel L. Jackson in particular stands out as the DiCaprio’s character’s ruthless house slave who will do whatever it takes to make certain things stay the way they are. Also, many actors who attempt Southern accents usually butcher them, but these Django‘s Southern accents were as smooth and natural as ice cream.

One of the many things Tarantino’s got a flare for is making his films extremely violent, and Django Unchained is no exception. It’s evident that Tarantino drew many inspirations from the Spaghetti Westerns of the past, as well as The Wild Bunch, a classic Western known for its unflinching depictions of violence. I mean, in one scene the walls of a house are literally painted with blood. Whenever someone receives a wound, big or small, a volcano of blood gushes from it. Add in a couple of mighty explosions to feast upon and you’ve got a pretty good amount/quality of action, along with enough old-timey racism to make damn near anyone uncomfortable.

Action Rating: 2 ½ Djangos Off the Chain, out of 5.

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!