Django Unchained (2012)
Genre: Crime/Adventure/Action/Drama/Western
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo Di Caprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson
With a star cast like that and with Quentin Tarantino behind the camera, its fair enough to expect some fireworks. Set in 1858 when slavery was rampant across the United States, Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) encounters a group of slavers, from whom he 'purchases' Django (Foxx) and sets him free. Django has been separated from his wife, Broomhilda (Washington) and he has no idea about where she could be. Dr. Schultz reveals that he is indeed a bounty hunter and needs Django's help to hunt for a prized bounty. In return for helping Dr. Schultz through the winter, Django is promised help in locating his wife. Calvin Candie (Di Caprio) is an eccentric millionaire whose favourite pass time is to watch two black men fight till one of them dies. Broomhilda was traced to be a slave of Candie and Schultz and Django hatch a plot to rescue her from there. Tarantino has a typical style to him movie-making and this movie reeks of it. The splashes of subtle humour, the gruesome action and the gripping intense scenes, this movie has it all. Christoph Waltz has played a very similar role to that of Inglorious Basterds but I am not complaining. Di Caprio has put on a fine performance but Jamie Foxx was a tad too composed and withdrawn. The movie is a decent entertainer but lacked the outright fireworks or the intensity to keep you at the edge of your seat. Is not as good as Inglorious and far off from Pulp Fiction.
Thumbs up: Fabulous acting from Di Caprio and Waltz
Thumbs down: Not as intense or gripping as it should be
Rating: 7.7/10