Django Unchained (2013)

[Archivist]

I really struggled with this one.  I've never been a fan of Quentin Tarantino as I find that his movies can ramble too much.  They have the cinematic equivalents of Tolkien's 'hobbit marching songs' that run for pages and do nothing to advance the plot.  And there's just something about his style, whether it is the subject matter, mode of presentation of whatever, that I just don't like.  I enjoyed the Kill Bill movies but even then, mainly due to the homages to all the old kung fu movies of the past, not as a movie in itself.

So it was with a certain amount of hesitation that I watched Django Unchained.  The first hour or so was very enjoyable.  The plot was linear and the scriptwriting and editing very elegant.  But about halfway through, it began to suffer the same things that I never liked about Tarantino, that weird tendency to go on rambles and stretch out scenes, character exposition and plot development that could have been handled much more elegantly.

The movie is violent in a cartoonish way when it calls for it, which is fun.  And it is nasty and brutal when it wants to be, which is also effective.  But to put those two together doesn't quite do it for me.  One minute there is a tremendous gun battle with enough fake blood for a decades worth of cherry pies, then there is a really nasty slave whipping scene.  The incongruence doesn't work, not for me.

When I first saw the thumbnails for the Django Unchained trailer on YouTube, I immediately thought, 'no, not going to see that'.  Then I found out that it was a Tarantino film, and that intuition seemed confirmed.  But a few friends wanted to see it, so I capitulated and went along.  At first I thought this might be different, but by the end, I realized that my intuition had been correct, and that I should really put my foot down and not see any more Tarantino movies, not where I have to pay cinema money.

[Newt]

... But about halfway through, it began to suffer the same things that I never liked about Tarantino...

Unfortunately, that about sums up every Tarantino movie I have seen.  I will be avoiding him for the same reason.

[Derf]

Not to sound like a hipster ("I hated Tarantino movies before it was cool"  ), but I have found much the same about every one of his films that I have seen: they start off okay, sometimes even great, but then the dialog starts to wear on me, then the plot goes off on some goofiness that doesn't work for me, and I am left with nothing but annoyance and/or disappointment. I will never pay money to see a Tarantino film; I just don't like his style. Many others do, and that's fine--it just doesn't work for me.

[fulci420]

Well it sounds like you guys went in expecting to dislike it which is never a good way to appreciate a movie. Tarantino films always have stayed away from linear storytelling and you can back to even his most acclaimed film "Pulp Fiction" and find that the meandering parts are among the most memorable of the whole film. Now I am not a complete Tarantino fanboy and will admit that this approach backfires on occasion (Death Proof, and although I liked Inglorious on first viewing I feel it's meandering makes it a boring rewatch). This movie however was a different story, I thought you could maybe cut 10 minutes out of it tops. The funny parts had me and the audience howling, the brutal parts were as brutal as anything else I had seen all year, and the acting was uniformly fantastic. A rare spontaneous applause at the afternoon showing I saw when the credits rolled which I have not seen in years. To me while not the greatest artistic achievement in cinema of 2012 (I would give that to Amour or The Master), this was surely the most entertaining. 

[ulthar]

Many others do, and that's fine--it just doesn't work for me.

No, no..that's not right.  What's wrong with you?  We must all like the same things (*).  Homogeneity Rules, Man!  There's just no place for Individual Taste!


(*) Especially if Professional Critics like it, ya dig?

[Derf]

Many others do, and that's fine--it just doesn't work for me.

No, no..that's not right.  What's wrong with you?  We must all like the same things (*).  Homogeneity Rules, Man!  There's just no place for Individual Taste!


(*) Especially if Professional Critics like it, ya dig?

Yer right! My taste is the only correct taste! Tarantino should be banned from ever making another "film" and all his fanboys should be kicked in the groin by angry muskrats! Thank you for reminding me that everybody's opinions stink if they are not exactly like mine! 

[zombie no.one]

I liked Inglorious on first viewing I feel it's meandering makes it a boring rewatch).

funny you should say that, I sat down to watch it on tv the other day when it came on and only got past the opening scene and gave up. couldn't be bothered! really enjoyed it on first viewing. whereas I have probably watched pulp fiction 15+ times

[dean]

Overall I enjoyed Django Unchained but of does suffer from some severe pacing problems and some pointless cameos that really could have been streamlined out.

There's a lot to like about Tarantino's work as a film nerd, but he's by no means a perfect filmmaker and would really benefit from someone telling him 'does this need to be in there?'

[Archivist]

Tarantino is like Wong Kar Wai in the matter of personal taste.  Some love his movies, others find them utterly boring self indulgences.  I fall in the middle somewhere: I enjoyed 2046, but I've never been able to watch Ashes of Time all the way through, despite the regular appearance of the delightful Charlie Yeung.  I very much enjoyed The Grandmasters, but I could also see a lot that I thought could have been done better, or differently.

I don't mind non-linear storytelling at all, but the way Tarantino does it just gets up my nose.  And his rambling tangents and juxtaposition of odd elements irritate me.  His ability to write dialogue and do character exposition is right up there, but he can stretch it out for too long.

[SynapticBoomstick]

I went to see Django Unchained with my brother. And my Mom. And my sister.

My brother and I are big Tarantino fans. N***** is my Mom's least favorite word in the entire English language. Violence makes my sister uncomfortable.

Yup.

[HappyGilmore]

I don't 'hate' Tarantino. I find him hit-and-miss. I dug some movies he's been involved with: Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, From Dusk Til Dawn. Other films, like Kill Bill 1&2, Jackie Brown, not so much.

[Torgo]

I thought that Django Unchained was one of the best films of 2012. I will admit that it's more of an acquired taste compared to some of Tarantino's other films like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.

[akiratubo]

I'm so glad to learn that other people feel the same way I do about Tarantino.  He's a pretty good writer but I think he lacks the discipline and focus to be a good director.  Maybe he needs to work from someone else's script.

[RCMerchant]

I thought that Django Unchained was one of the best films of 2012. I will admit that it's more of an acquired taste compared to some of Tarantino's other films like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.

I just seen it last night-and I agree. It was fan-f**king-tastic. Bloody,funny,violent,exploitive. "These are some of my favorite things". And I liked all the cameos-Bruce Dern,Russ Tamblyn,Tom Savani,James Remar,Don Johnson,Don Stroud,Tom Wopat,Robert Carradine,and even the origanl Django Franco Nero!

[zombie no.one]

Don't always like Tarantino's films but I always check them... until now. I just have this complete aversion to Leonardo Di Caprio, and Jamie Foxx. They're like annoyingly vacuous pretty-boy hollywood puppets and I cannot watch them. same with quite a lot of actors in fact... I thought I would have this problem with Brad Pitt in Inglorious Basterds but somehow I didn't. I also managed to tolerate him in Coen Bros' Burn After Reading. He's definitely on the outer limits of this weird 'celebrity actor' category though, for me. Leonardo Di Caprio just annoys me too much to even watch a film he's in by a director I enjoy. Wish Tarantino would use unknown actors