Welcome to alternative History 101 with Professor Quentin Tarantino. In his last class, cataloged as “Inglorious Basterds”, Tarantino burned down the damn Third Reich, Hitler included. This time, with DJANGO UNCHAINED, he lines up slave traders so a black man can blow their fool heads off. Be damned the facts. Like Sergio Corbucci, who directed the first Django (starring Franco Nero), in 1966, Tarantino obeys the only commandment that counts in exploitation movies: Anything goes!

Who else but Tarantino would choose to target human trafficking in the form of a spaghetti Western set in the Deep South two years before the Civil War? And who else would do it to a wowser of a soundtrack that includes a taste of Ennio Morricone, a mash-up of James Brown and Tupac Shakur, and (a Tarantino rarity) original songs from Rick Ross, Anthony Hamilton and John Legend?

Django Unchained is literally all over the place. It twists and turns over an unbridled two hours and 45 minutes, giving history (and your stamina) a serious pounding. Not that you'll care. You'll be having too much fun. DJANGO UNCHAINED is an exhilarating rush, outrageously entertaining and, hell, just plain outrageous!

The plot kicks in when Django (Jamie Foxx) is bought by Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a German-born dentist-turned-bounty-hunter whose wagon still sports a giant tooth. King is a great Tarantino character. Waltz is again spectacular in his blend of mirth and menace. King needs Django to ID the Brittle brothers, varmints worth a huge bounty, dead or alive. His reward is freedom. But Django needs King to locate his enslaved wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington).

When Django's revenge does come, it's a gore-splattering doozy. Foxx, giving Django his cool-dude props at last, morphs into a cowboy John Shaft and opens fire. There's something here to offend everyone. Revenge fantasies don't leave much room for moral lessons. Django is out for blood. So is Tarantino! [EDITED]


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