Racial Slurs and Blood Bath!

Unlike his other films where we got to fantasize about the uncanny holocaust where Jews killed the Nazis in Inglourious Basterds, and Sharon Tate escaping her ill-fate in Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, Tarantino did not attempt to tweak history with Django Unchained. It's a spaghetti-western film set in the pre-Civil War era filled with racial slurs and drenched in blood. The blood doesn't just spill and splatter, it oozes out so much, in fact, it's an important but uncredited character in the movie. I was putting it away for a while now, mainly because of its 2h 45min runtime.

Quentin Tarantino's movies are hit-or-miss for me. I'm one of those people who didn't enjoy Pulp Fiction, it wasn't for me, I felt it's overrated. Django Unchained is a hit for many reasons. Starts off with a brilliant introduction scene perfectly establishing the tone and the main characters, Django Freeman (Jamie Foxx) and Dr. King Shultz (Christoph Waltz). The message is clear, freedom from slavery, and Tarantino gets it right. The costumes, performances, the deep southern accent, and the set designs are on point but in my opinion, it suffers from slow pacing. It's a typical western film that lives up to its standards but the momentum takes a hit after the first hour. DiCaprio makes a late appearance, but Jamie Foxx and more importantly Christoph Waltz are the saving grace.

Tarantino did go overboard with racial slurs. It was painful and unsettling to hear the insane amount of profanity and watch the slavery episodes but it accomplishes the task of portraying the horrors black people faced back then. Every second word of the dialogue is highly offensive, and the N-word is thrown around a lot. You root for Django Freeman, for his freedom, and his battle to free his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson are extended cameos, both shine in their roles. The dinner table scene is the highlight of the movie. The ending is a bit rushed, but after 2h 45 mins, you are glad that it's over!