On the surface, this is a very colorful, entertaining and at times, hilarious film. If you go in, not thinking about anything, chances are you'll have a great time. Gawd bless ya, go ahead and have fun, I wouldn't want to take any enjoyment away from you.
My problem, other than the fact the "N" word is way, way, WAY overused, is typical of the problems I have with Tarantino's other recent films: Overlong, fat, bloated films with scenes that take ten minutes just to get to the point.
Make no mistake, this film is LONG, at 2 hours and 45 minutes, this could easily lose an hour and you'd have a tighter, better film. When you compare Tarantino's earlier work, when he had his co-writer Roger Avery and his editor Sally Menke, to his later films, you'll notice a big difference. Those two people are sorely missed here. It seems as if Tarantino has so many "Yes" men around him -- same problem as George Lucas, that he gets to do whatever he wants, but lacks the discipline to stay true to his craft. I wish he had someone who wasn't sucking his dick, to pull in the reigns on him.
I'm not trying to hate on Tarantino, I love Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and True Romance, but, as typical with writer directors, they tend to get worse as they get older.
Perhaps Tarantino has said everything he wants to say, maybe he's just sitting back and enjoying or reliving the movies he saw as a kid and playing with them. I wouldn't really blame him for that.
The look of the film is gorgeous. The cinematography here, truly feels epic. The performances are terrific, no one was bad here (apart from Tarantino's cameo.) I especially loved Samuel L Jackson's performance as the guy-behind-the-guy.
Christoph Walz is really charismatic and you really pay attention, as is Leonardo Di Caprio (best thing about the film,) for Jamie Foxx... To be honest, you forget he's in it. Let me be clear: Django is NOT the main character in this film. He should be, but he gets swamped by everyone else.
The first half of the film is badass. Two bounty hunters going around, killing dudes, collecting cash with lots of jokes in between. 2nd half becomes an hour of Leonardo Di Caprio and Christoph Walz talking. No lie, an hour and a half of those two guys chit-chatting, with little scenes of violence here and there that simply do not fit naturally in the film.
The soundtrack - a staple of Tarantino films, for the most part works well, until they bring in the hip hop, which takes you right out of it.
Ah well, this review seems unnecessary. If you're a fan of Tarantino, you're going to watch it and you'll probably love it, not seeing the faults. As I said before: Bless your cotton socks.
For me, it was just a very uneven film, walking the line of crazy cartoon comic book popcorn fun and dark, brutal exploitation, which -- for me personally, didn't mesh well.
What works, works well. What doesn't, is noticeable. Take that for what it's worth.
THREE FUCKS
Oh, fans of crazy blood spurts are going to be happy. It's like red custard flying out of people!
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