New To Blu: Django Unchained

After a 3 year hiatus, Quentin Tarantino returns to cinemas with one of his bravest films to date. Django Unchained is an unabashed tale of vengeance that never hesitates in it's sheer violence and brutality. While featuring a perfectly timed comic sensibility, Django Unchained is further proof that Tarantino is a masterful film maker only interested in creating new cinematic experiences for his captive audience. Django is his funniest film to date which is definitely welcome in a film that could be absolutely depressing if it weren't for the laughs.

Unlike the snail's pace of his last picture Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained moves at a much faster stride while building a tale about love and dedication amongst the slave trade and all it's horrendous crimes against man. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Basterds, but Django is much more involved in it's story telling and character development. Altogether, it simply has the fluidity that was lacking in his last film.

This is definitely not a picture for those that are offended by over zealous use of blood or a certain racial term that starts with the letter "n". The word is used over and over again to the point that it ultimately loses it's shock value. However, it's probably a true take on how it was commonly used in the 1800's. Personally, I wasn't shocked but just accepted it as part of Tarantino's dedication to capturing the dialect of the era.

Not only is the language proper for the time period, the attention to costume design and set design are absolutely flawless. Everything about the picture is good to look at. The landscapes are gorgeous and the numerous locations each capture the essence of the pre-civil war era perfectly.

Django Unchained is further testament to Tarantino's expert casting decisions. Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx both take the lead while Leonardo Dicaprio finally tackles his first role as a villain. And damnit, he steals the show. Samuel L. Jackson also delivers another worthy Tarantino performance and the stunning Kerry Washington plays the physically ravaged damsel in distress. You'll notice many more recognizable faces throughout the movie, the most noteworthy being Don Johnson.

If you can handle emotionally invested, blood drenched slave films that teeter on the edge of laugh out out exploitation comedy, definitely see Django Unchained. I would say that this is one of Tarantino's best but it's hard when the man has never made a bad movie.