I get it and yet in a way I don't

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2016)

I absolutely understand the critical acclaim heralded onto The Revenant. If you begin to look deep inside the inner working of The Revenant you can't help but be impressed. They shot 100% using natural light, the cinematography is stunning, the camera work beautiful, the performances gritty and real...the film from a film making standpoint is a masterpiece. However from a pure cinematic entertainment standpoint it is a very, very, very long story about a guy stumbling through the wilderness for two hours and exacting revenge for another half hour. The Revenant is a piece of art, it was made to be so. I don't know how anyone could defend it for it's brilliant script or multi-faceted characters because neither one is true. Don't get me wrong, Leonardo DiCaprio is fantastic in the role but he's fantastic at showing a man surviving, not for giving this historically powerful character. It is like seeing a beautiful painting that is just stunning but staring at it for 2 1/2 hours. I guess what I'm getting at is there isn't a lot of substance to it and I cannot agree that it is anywhere near the best movie of the year because it is successful in one area of film making.
Does that mean star Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't deserve an Oscar? No not at all. DiCaprio is mesmerizing in this role. He shows an intensity and a fear and this grit for survival that is really quite powerful. He desires vengeance enough to survive the very worst conditions possible. The bear attack is definitely brutal and really something to remember in the beginning. Tom Hardy is what Tom Hardy is nowadays. He does a funny voice and acts odd and that's his role. His character is essentially the villain and the focus of DiCaprio's vengeance but very underdeveloped character and not a lot of scenes considering. There are a few other half decent supporting roles that are almost cameos more than anything such as Will Poulter and Domnhall Gleeson.
One thing I am certain of is that director Alejandro González Iñárritu deserves his Oscar nod. The man has incredible style and if you watched The Revenant with no sound on, I think you would likely be mesmerized by the world he creates. As I mentioned before the setting and camera work is brilliant. I could go back and watch this again just for the little details in the background. The Revenant is a beautiful piece of art but from an entertainment standpoint it misses the mark in several ways. It has some intense climatic moments (the bear attack and the end scene) but what is in the middle leaves you scratching your head more than enjoying the concept. It's a two and a half hour film that was at least an hour longer than it needed to be. It certainly wouldn't be my choice for best picture but for those wild and crazy critics, I do understand. 7/10