Django Unchained
Django Unchained is my second favorite Quentin Tarantino film (sorry nothing beats Pulp Fiction) and one of my favorites of all time.
Where do I even begin. First the expected. The dialogue is top notch, as expected with Tarantino's filmography, and the performances are fantastic. But my favorite performance by far is Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Schultz. To me he is the true hero of this story. He not only saves Django from slavery but also saves him from the slave mentality. He teaches him how to read, get him his own clothes and his own horse with the D on the saddle. When Shultz is unfortunately gunned down after shooting Calvin Candy, it serves as the moment that Django has lost his mindset of old and is ready to finally pursue a life of freedom. And having that mindset saves him and his wife. Dr. King Schultz is my favorite character that Tarantino has written and Christoph Waltz delivers once again.
Samuel L. Jackson as Stephen is my second favorite character in the film because of how brilliant he is. He appears as a fragile old man yet he manipulates Mr. Candy to do his bidding. To me, Stephen is just as evil as Calvin Candy because he enables him and whispers what he wants to be done. Absolute Brilliance.
Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio are also amazing. DiCaprio as Calvin Candy is one of the most evil characters in cinema history and his performance is very underrated. A shame he wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award but that's the Oscars for you.
Lastly, the feel and environment of this movie is unmatched. It not only feels like an old style Western but even as a story set in the universe of the Red Dead Redemption franchise, some of the greatest video games ever made. The music also adds to the feel and environment of this film with both new and old tracks added to mix tradition with modern day story telling.
Django Unchained is a spectacular film and one of the greatest ever made.
10/10