DJANGO UNCHAINED ("NOT AS UNCHAINED AS HYPED!")

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo Dicaprio, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L Jackson, Kerry Washington.

Director: Quentin Tarantino.

The guy who does not care what other people (read critics) think about his films is back with his next directorial. The much hyped Django Unchained!

Django Unchained is set in 1858 when slavery was the rule of the day. Django (Jamie Foxx) is rescued from his masters by the witty daring scheming dentist turned bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). King makes Django his partner and together they set out to rescue Django’s wife  Broomhilda(Kerry Washington), who is owned by the supposedly cruel Mississippi Plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo Dicaprio).

The first thing that would strike you right from the start is the wonderful cinematography and the old classical western style music that sets the tone right away. After the immediate entry of Waltz and Foxx character by character starts appearing as Tarantino goes about building up the screenplay with traces of humor here and there.

Waltz who has done a fabulous job, is given a heroic stature initially but is soon shadowed by Foxx(not performance wise) because of the screenplay. The characterisation and scope of Django does not look indelible which easily explains why Will Smith might have turned down the role; not to take away any credit from the really good performance by Foxx.

Leonardo and Samuel Jackson come into the picture towards the end of the first half. What seems really appalling here is the weak characterisation of Leonardo which hardly makes him the cruel villain as he is supposed to be. This is easily one of the roles he would love to forget. Samuel L Jackson as Steven, the nigger who hates niggers, is funny and appears more sinister than Leonardo.

The film moves at a slow pace especially in the first half and the runtime of 165 minutes will make you shift in your seat unless you are a Tarantino fan. The verbal duels between Foxx and Leonardo are interesting but they never reach a boiling point leaving you unsatisfied.

But a special point to be made here is the spectacular direction which keeps the intent all through the film considering a not so impressive screenplay and a simple plot. The action scenes(violence rather) have been choreographed well. You would really enjoy certain scenes towards the end.

One interesting question that a lot of the viewers would have is whether Christoph Watz (notwithstanding his amazing performance) really deserved the Oscar for the Best Supporting actor over Tommy Lee Jones!

Iam giving a 3.5/5 for Django Unchained. Django though a really good film does not reach the league of the great ones.

PS: Django is a slow moving VIOLENT film. You will be disappointed if you are looking for a fast paced action flick.

IMDB Link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/?ref_=sr_1

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2 to 2.25                      -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

3 to 3.25                      -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4 to 4.25                      -           Great.

4.5 and above               -           Extraordinary.