I had misgivings regarding Django Unchained, having heard very mixed reviews - but I waited until the cinema for watching it, foregoing the downloaded option and I'm glad I did. Sure, this is Tarantino's more 'Hollywood' film, more 'epic' and maybe more 'mainstream' than his other efforts but it was nonetheless a great film, albeit a touch too long.
I love how Tarantino has upgraded from a Jewish revenge fantasy mixed with Nazis meets Western films to Slave revenge fantasy meets German fairytale meets western films... and it worked really well. That German Jew-Hunter from Inglourious Basterds was, once again, fantastic and I counted him as the lead character rather than Jamie Foxx. Yes, Di Caprio's phrenology speech could have been much darker, much more racially damning, but I think that it may have been too much in this somewhat light-hearted take on the horrors of slavery. Light-hearted? Sure!
Yes, the horrible aspects of slavery were highlighted, but not gratuitously so, nor to extremes - just enough to give the terrible background of abuse amidst an entertaining and often comically violent revenge romp.
I enjoyed it a lot... although I'm still not sure how Di Caprio cut his hand in that scene....
Monkey's verdict?
4/5 fingers in a vagina.