With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
Quentin Tarantino's brutal revenge western is a thrilling return to form with inspired performances from Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx and Samuel L Jackson.
What a pity Tarantino is so busy booking cameos from old spaghetti stars and tipping his Stetson to schlock that he never unchains his most promising brainwave.
After the fanciful misfire that was his WWII fantasy Inglourious Basterds, this feels like Tarantino right in his wheelhouse.
The narrative unravels excitingly with unexpected twists combined with Tarantino’s flair for engaging dialogue and understated humour.
Though the story, performances and style work a treat, it is humour that makes Django Unchained the best Tarantino in years.
Tarantino can do many things, but editing is not his forte. He doesn't know what to leave out, and after a gripping first hour the film loses itself in detours and sidesteps.
An arresting, both barrels blazing return to form.
It’s a big, crazy, hugely entertaining, multilayered piece of filmmaking – a fierce but fiercely intelligent testament to Tarantino’s frequently questioned filmmaking proclivities and certainly among the best films he’s made.
Quentin Tarantino makes a dizzy return to form with a horribly funny slavery western – and Samuel L Jackson is extraordinary as the ultimate Uncle Tom.
As in all of Tarantino’s best films, there is a strange and brilliant magic at work here; a dark, bubbling alchemy of art and junk.
Not a masterpiece, but a funny, violent, very entertaining crowdpleaser.
Trashy but talented.
Another strong, sparky and bloody entry in the QT canon. Although, creaking under its running time, it’s not quite as uproariously entertaining as his last pseudo-historical adventure, Inglourious Basterds.
As usual with Tarantino, Django has style and invention aplenty, and as usual, some of it drags, doggedly reluctant to cut to the chase.
Django Unchained is a long, powerful film, its dramatic brush strokes broad and colourful, its psychological points made with considerable subtlety and wit.
A close cousin of sorts to Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained sees great set pieces, flashes of brilliance and another great performance by Christoph Waltz undermined by indulgent tendencies.
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General release. Check local listings for show times.
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