Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a former dentist turned bounty hunter, buys a slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), from his less than willing to sell new owners. Schultz gives Django his freedom in exchange for Django helping him hunt down some fugitives. He even agrees to split the earnings for his bounties with Django.

Schultz takes Django under his wing and turns him into “The fastest gun in the south.” After all, these bounties are wanted dead or alive. Their captures usually fall into the first category.

Django only has one request. He wants to free his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). The two were split up and sold at auction to different owners. Broomhilda went to the vicious Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), owner of the “Candie Land” plantation.

With help from his new friend, Django will stop at nothing to free his wife and, whenever possible, exact his revenge for the way she has been treated.

First off, I have to say, I have never and will never understand this period of our history. How people can treat other human beings this way is just unfathomable.

That being said, I enjoyed this film much more than I expected. With all the controversy surrounding the film, including its “gratuitous” use of the N-word, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to see it at all. I’m glad I got past that and watched it.

Writer/director Quentin Tarantino spins a tale in a way that only he can. He uses every aspect of the film, from its genius soundtrack, the comedic timing,  and the over the top gore that I can only describe as Tarantino-esque, to make an absolute beauty of a movie. It’s no wonder that it was nominated, and won, so many awards.

This has to be, hands down, one of my favorite performances by Christoph Waltz. He is absolutely hysterical in this film. Not so much, though, that it’s overdone. Jamie Foxx has a dry wit and timing to him, with enough badass mixed in that plays well again Waltz. Leo is, well Leo. He is who he is. And usually, that is a very good actor. Period pieces seem to fit him for some reason. He slips his role as a relentless slave owner well. And what would a Tarantino movie be without a little Samuel L. Jackson?

To address the controversy regarding the use of the N-word, I have to say that Tarantino doesn’t go overboard or use it gratuitously. As odd as that sounds, one must realize this is set just prior to the Civil War. And it is a movie about slaves. This is simply how they spoke during this time. Again, this is part of our history as a country. He is just telling a story as it would have been told.

If you can get past the profanity and gore that accompanies all Tarantino-esque movies, then I have to highly recommend Django Unchained. It is one of the best films I have seen in a while. Even with a running time of just under 3 hours, I never once found it lacking in any way. Solid entertainment for the entire movie.

I can’t say enough good things about this movie. You will definitely want to pick this one up. You won’t regret it. Just make sure the kids aren’t around when you’re watching it.