THE REVENANT

I ain’t afraid to die anymore. I done it already.

I won’t lie, The Revenant is one of those films which puts visuals before story. But, unlike other films that do that, it does it in the most unimaginably brilliant way. The cinematography is some of, if the best I’ve ever seen. And that’s the point. It’s meant to look beautiful, yet real at the same time. The locations look outstanding, and the use of real light only makes things better. The scenes of Glass hauling himself across the American Frontier include some of the best shots in the film, but after a while those establishing shots do start to get a little old.

The story itself is fairly simple. Leonardo Di Caprio is attacked by a bear and left for dead, watches his son get murdered in cold blood, crawls his way through the American Frontier and gets in another fight with a different bear who goes by the name of Tom Hardy. It’s basically a revenge story. The cast does a stellar job of bringing it to life, whether they’re in main roles or secondary. The stand out actors are by far Di Caprio and Hardy, and rightly so.

Speaking of fights with bears, there are parts of the movie that are, probably intentionally, very discomforting to watch. The bear attack scene being one of them. It’s not the most brutal scene in the film, but they really don’t hold back. Scene number two goes to the horse carcass. Remember that scene in Empire Strikes Back when Han cuts open the Taunton? Well, imagine that, but actually seeing the insides being hauled out. Yuck. The final, and in my view most brutal scene is the fight at the end. I won’t go into detail, but there are definitely a couple of wince-worthy moments.

I can see people having two views of The Revenant. Either you’ll think it’s visually stunning, or you’ll be bored out of your mind. I know people in both categories. It’s true, you do feel the running time drag on after a while. But if you manage to look past that and wait until the end, it’s well worth it. Kudos to Di Caprio and the rest of the cast and crew for enduring such horrendous conditions.

So, all in all, The Revenant definitely focuses more on visuals than anything else. But, in a stroke of utter brilliance, it pays off spectacularly, even if the run time does slightly take away from them. Have the patience to look past that, and you'll hugely enjoy it. Just be ready for a few moments where other films might gloss over. Not everyone can stomach the de-stomaching of a dead horse.

8/10