I have finally seen Django Unchained and am open for discussion.
First impressions: Looking at it through the lens of the Tarantino "Revenge" triptych (Kill Bills, Inglorious and Django) it does not feel as technically crafted as its predecessors. Yes, it's a "Spaghetti Western" and Tarantino has a fanatic devotion to his genre tropes. Yet...
"Inglorious" feels like a full-bore WWII film (albeit one with darkly comical flourishes). "Kill Bill 1/2" is a pastiche of Kurasowa/Wuxia flicks with Blaxploitation and even Old West undertones... Stylized, but QT's craftsmanship is evident.
"Django" suffers from QT's choice to frame it in the kitschy "Spaghetti" universe. To be certain, there were awesome performances. However, they are unbalanced by the more broad antics of the many supporting players.
DiCaprio was amazing as the despicable Candie. Foxx had some really strong sequences too, though Django's meandering accent and curiously scattered comprehension of English was a weakness. Unlike most, I found Waltz's dentist to be much less engaging than his riveting turn as the pragmatic Nazi. Further, Kerry Washington was little more than a cipher, save for her sequence where Hilde converses with Waltz's dentist. And then there's Samuel L. Jackson.
I was amazed by Jackson's take on Stephen... the confused squint that turns into simmering rage at Django's horsebound approach... then Stephen spoke. 100% Jackson as opposed to a real character. QT loves Jackson (apparently he sends him every script to see if there's something that Jackson cares to take on). Stephen provides some zinger laugh lines as well as deeply disturbing menace. But I can't help thinking that there was a missed opportunity for Stephen and Django to square off in a more substantive confrontation. After all, one of the subtexts of the script is how the "servant" Blacks subtly manipulated their putative owners.
I'm a QT fan (LOVE "True Romance") and FWIW, there are worse ways to spend time in a movie theatre. Still, as tasty as the tasty bits were (and there were some juicy morsels), I can't say it added up to a completely satisfying meal.
First impressions: Looking at it through the lens of the Tarantino "Revenge" triptych (Kill Bills, Inglorious and Django) it does not feel as technically crafted as its predecessors. Yes, it's a "Spaghetti Western" and Tarantino has a fanatic devotion to his genre tropes. Yet...
"Inglorious" feels like a full-bore WWII film (albeit one with darkly comical flourishes). "Kill Bill 1/2" is a pastiche of Kurasowa/Wuxia flicks with Blaxploitation and even Old West undertones... Stylized, but QT's craftsmanship is evident.
"Django" suffers from QT's choice to frame it in the kitschy "Spaghetti" universe. To be certain, there were awesome performances. However, they are unbalanced by the more broad antics of the many supporting players.
DiCaprio was amazing as the despicable Candie. Foxx had some really strong sequences too, though Django's meandering accent and curiously scattered comprehension of English was a weakness. Unlike most, I found Waltz's dentist to be much less engaging than his riveting turn as the pragmatic Nazi. Further, Kerry Washington was little more than a cipher, save for her sequence where Hilde converses with Waltz's dentist. And then there's Samuel L. Jackson.
I was amazed by Jackson's take on Stephen... the confused squint that turns into simmering rage at Django's horsebound approach... then Stephen spoke. 100% Jackson as opposed to a real character. QT loves Jackson (apparently he sends him every script to see if there's something that Jackson cares to take on). Stephen provides some zinger laugh lines as well as deeply disturbing menace. But I can't help thinking that there was a missed opportunity for Stephen and Django to square off in a more substantive confrontation. After all, one of the subtexts of the script is how the "servant" Blacks subtly manipulated their putative owners.
I'm a QT fan (LOVE "True Romance") and FWIW, there are worse ways to spend time in a movie theatre. Still, as tasty as the tasty bits were (and there were some juicy morsels), I can't say it added up to a completely satisfying meal.
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