My biggest problem with Django Unchained is that it's not as good as Inglorious Basterds. That's not a bad problem to have. Thankfully, unlike Inglorious Basterds, Django doesn't have any moments that make me want to slap Quentin Tarantino in the face.
The film really shines in the first act. Christoph Waltz purchases Django from some slavers and the two form a bounty-hunting partnership that results in some of the funnest movie moments of the year. Christoph Waltz seems incapable of being outsmarted or killed, and claims each bounty with panache. It is in these first scenes that we get the best of Tarantino's dialogue, humor, and cleverness. Christoph Waltz talks himself out of every threatening experience, befuddling a US marshall, a southern plantation, and a group of Klansmen who can't seem to get their headwear in order.
