“I like the way you die, boy.”

As a HUGE fan of westerns I was interested to see Tarantino’s take on the genre, because at the point of writing this the only Tarantino films I have seen are Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and Inglourious Basterds (which were all amazing). And I can confidently say: This film did not disappoint. 

There’s so much to love about this film! It’s got it all: Awesome shootouts, amazing music, incredible dialogue, great humour and outstanding acting.

Django as a character is superbly written and his arc/journey is great to watch. He’s very likeable, with comedic, serious and cool moments mixed into his character, as well as also having a lot of style. Jamie Foxx did a great job as Django and I seriously cannot think of anyone who could have done it better.

Leonardo DiCaprio is great as Calvin Candie, a notoriously sinister Mississippi plantation owner. He adds so much grittiness to the role and becomes very interesting to watch. Samuel L. Jackson was also very eye catching as Calvin Candie’s house slave, Stephen, seeming so feeble and harmless but then turning out to be just as cruel as Calvin himself.

But of course, as always, the star of the show was Christoph Waltz. I’ll never understand how he can give so much to every role he’s given - everything he does just feels like it’s in another league of acting, and he completely outshines everyone in this movie in my opinion. He nailed this role and perfected Dr. King Shultz, making me laugh and watch in awe of this that felt so real, and all the while making me so involved and never once thinking to look away. A truly amazing performance.

The Story is excellent and Django’s journey is full of great action sequences and shootouts that were perfectly executed. It balances the brutality of slavery and it’s more lighthearted cowboy, action feel really well, making it easy to watch and also very compelling.

I cannot decide whether my favourite Tarantino movie is this one or Inglourious Basterds. But even though that movie may have been a slightly stronger, my adoration for westerns makes it difficult to decide. Either way, this film is one everyone should watch as soon as they can.

Tarantino Ranked