MovieChat Forums > Django Unchained (2012) Discussion > Jamie Foxx was the reason I didn't love ...

Jamie Foxx was the reason I didn't love this film.

posted 9 years ago by DreadFox
21 replies | jump to latest

Jamie Foxx is a very capable actor. Ray was amazing of course, and I really liked him in Collateral. So just getting it out of the way, I do like the guy.

But I just didn't care for him in this movie. He played the part just too....cocky? I guess that's the word I'm thinking of. He was just so confident and arrogant, I never felt like he was a man that really grew from slavery to freedom and being a capable bounty hunter. He kinda just acted like an arrogant person for most the movie.

I guess I just wanted a more humble take on the role, or perhaps a different actor would have pulled it off better.

Kinda hard to put in words but....it's like he just played himself in the movie. At no time did I feel like he had really created a character for the film, he was just Jamie Foxx being Jamie Foxx. Not saying he is arrogant and cocky but....he is a big star so I assume he acts like a typical movie star.

Bottom line is the man can act, he just didn't seem to do much acting in this movie. Since Tarantino films are so focused on characters I didn't find it as enjoyable as his other works.

[–] thektroll 9 years ago

He was definitely the weak link for me, but everyone else was amazing even Don Johnson so.. It was still great

[–] hilljennifer67 9 years ago

I agree, his role was mediocre at best, it could of been better

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[–] mksms-70675 8 years ago

I disagree. I feel Foxx just played a more brave & capable slave, one who wasn't completely beaten down by his circumstances. And when he got the chance to escape and get his wife back, he took the opportunity, that's all. And that's my take on his role.

[–] darthsitkur 8 years ago

Jamie Foxx was a total badass and his performance was great, and I'm glad they chose him instead of will "PC" smith, will smith would've been tacky

[–] Jade_The_Messenger 8 years ago

They didn't choose Foxx over Smith. Smith turned them down. Big difference.

If anything, if the Trivia section is accurate, they chose Foxx over Gooding...though even that wouldn't be right either since Tarantino refused to even consider Gooding.

[–] marno76 8 years ago

I cant believe QT really thought about casting will smith for the role. no offence but smith can not play such a role.
he has no depth and pales in comparison to foxx (which I do love since playing alien beamen).
any other actor BUT NOT will smith.

[–] Jade_The_Messenger 8 years ago

Smith is capable of having depth. He did in Six Degrees Of Separation. I even think he showed bits of it in Bad Boys.

Just because someone does something good for you, that doesn't mean they're good for you.

[–] LiquidOcelot (2452) 5 years ago

Smith has no depth at all, he's a one dimensional actor.

[–] mariondowning-427-469344 8 years ago

Will Smith in this would have been like watching Wild Wild West again. His hamming up all the time and goofy faces. Too much for this. He would have come across as even more arrogant.

[–] ecarle (14979) 5 years ago

Will Smith said something very revealing about why he turned Django Unchained down:

"I don't get to kill the bad guy."

He was talking about Waltz killing Leo. To Smith, that was letting "the supporting actor" do the leading man's job.

But Smith got it wrong. In the pattern of Django:

The white good guy(Waltz) kills the white bad guy(Leo) and is killed himself which set up:

The black good guy(Foxx) kills the black bad guy(Jackson.)

The story HAD to play that way, but Will Smith as a (fading) superstar with an image to protect, refused to sign up for that structure.

[–] Gokuvswhitepanther 8 years ago

you just hate black people

[–] paytonsapp 8 years ago

I think Jamie Foxx played the character just fine but with accomplished actors such as Christoph Waltz, Leonardo Dicaprio and Samuel L. Jackson, it would have been hard for Jamie Foxx to really stand out in such good company. Foxx is a good actor don't get me wrong but he just isn't on the same level as the three I mentioned.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Suki_Akbar 8 years ago

I don't think he did bad at all. People who say he's a bad actor should rewatch the flashback scene where Django breaks down and pleads the Brittle brothers to not whip his wife; he was great there.

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