Django Unchained is the latest blood-soaked vengeance tale from writer/director Quentin Tarantino. It follows Django, a slave who sets out on a mission to free his wife Broomhilda after being liberated by the aptly named bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz. Schultz needs Django to identify a band of outlaw brothers that he has been unable to track down. In exchange for his help, Schultz promises to aid Django in his quest to find his wife. Django earns his freedom, receives training in the art of death, a new set of clothes and the two set off to free Broomhilda from the evil plantation owner Calvin Candie, dispatching their own brand of justice along the way.
True to form, Tarantino delivers another gritty melange of genre defining standards, infused with his own brand of edgy banter and doused in plenty of claret to satisfy even the most jaded of fan boys. An abundance of racial slurs and a Monty Python-esque caveat involving members of the Kyu Klux Klan will undoubtedly cause some viewer's skin to crawl with apprehension but not nearly as much as the scene with the dancing horse. (that is not a joke)
Christoph Waltz plays Dr. King Schultz and his cold-blooded, matter of fact attitude carries the film until Leonardo DiCaprio shows up. Jaime Foxx is serviceable as the leading man but is much better when he doesn't speak. DiCaprio continues to grow stronger with each passing role and turns in a truly menacing performance. Samuel L. Jackson plays "Stephen" a house slave who proves to be much more cunning and devious than he appears. Kerry Washington doesn't get enough screen time to make an impact on the film and serves only as the prize at the end of the journey.
Overall, Django Unchained is another quality addition to the Tarantino cannon.
Snobby Art House Rating - A-
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