Django Unchained

Bullseyes:  ③ (out of 5)

Django Unchained is, in a word: Indulgent. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I quite enjoyed this movie although once again Tarantino seems unable to not shoot and blow everything up. It’s fun but it does get a little silly.

The movie is disjointed at the beginning – Jamie Foxx shoots the bad guys and gains his freedom and then, oh, now we’re off doing this are we? OK, well I’ll sit back down again...

I like to know where I’m at early on in a movie, none of this ‘3rd Act’ - another 30 minutes - bullshit. But that’s fine.

When the Bounty Hunters get to DiCaprio’s mansion the authentic slave stuff is very gruesome and informative (I’m assuming it’s based on fact) and the performances are typical Tarantino, tongue-in-cheek blood and bluster. The tension ratchets up and up but it doesn't sustain, probably because it takes way too long to rescue the girl and I don’t even really care that much...

There are some unsatisfying moments. Like when the slave gets pulled to bits by the dogs – why did that have to happen? Yuk. I cared more about him that I did Jamie Foxx’s wife. And at the end all the shooting up gets a bit mundane – there’s only so many ways to watch a man die. But it was a good movie overall. I gave it two thumbs up, at which point everyone in the movie theatre peered at me sideways and slowly edged their way past.