The Revenant (2015) Movie Review

 

R  |  156 min 

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller 

Directed: Alejandro González Iñárritu 

Writers: Mark L. Smith & Alejandro González Iñárritu

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson 

Plot: In the 1820s, a frontiersman named Hugh Glass sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.


Following up from last years Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu directs Leonardo DiCaprio playing frontiersman Hugh Glass who is set out on taking revenge on all those who left him for dead when he needed them the most. 

By far this is the best looking movie I've seen all year, they shot this film on a new Alexa 65mm camera and really shines through. Everything from the lighting looks very natural, you actually feel like you are in the locations they are in. The shots of the forest and environments are draw dropping at points. 

What took me by surprise was how much this was a survive film, not only for DiCaprio's character but also for others like Tom Hardy group and everyone else trying to survive in this forest. It feels very gritty and realistic not just for present day but for the time period they are in, because they wouldn't have no where near as good medical supplies today as they did back then. This forces the characters to uses their resources and everything in nature in order to survive, be it plant, animals, or water.

This movie attempts at making moments of the film feel dreamlike and surreal like it is trying to say a larger message. Unfortunately for the most part it has nothing to do with the story and is kinda just there to stretch out the time. I couldn't help but notice by the end of the film how this really could've been cut down a good forty minutes to make the film a bit tighter. Especially because the film making is made to look as is everything is going on at one with no stops. It works during the actions scenes of the films, I just wish they kept it up for the slower middle portion of the film. 

Everything else in the film is great, this has some of the most brutal action scenes where it really feels real. There isn't even much dialogue coming out of DiCaprio because its all about his actions. Using all visuals to survive and visuals to tell the story and present the film. This is one of the most impressive movies of the year and you really wonder how they are able to pull off what they accomplished in this film. Something that I wish more films could do and hope more films in the future take a note of from The Revenant.

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