Man vs. Man vs. Nature vs. Himself

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2016)

The four-way battle of man vs. man vs. nature vs. himself has never been construed in the way The Revenant does in this Oscar-nominated epic survival film. Once again, Alejandro González Iñárritu blesses us with a masterclass visual poetry as he cements his spot into one of the world's visionary directors in cinema. The Revenant, inspired by true events, tells the gruesome tale of Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), an experienced frontiersman on a fur-trading expedition to a journey to retribution after being abandoned by his comrades. Stuck amid miles of harsh and uncharted wilderness, Glass is fueled by only two things to survive: his insurmountable love for his family and his desire for revenge.
Snippets of peaceful life and the sound of soothing calm water open the film, and we are subjected to this dream-like meditative state of life, a false security from the maelstrom that ensues in the next frame – when a gang of Hawkeyes and Katniss Everdeens Arikara Native Americans lay slaughter on Glass' fur-trapping team. In this thrilling one- take action sequence, the film's first arrow whooshes through a mouth and then a series of sheer carnage follows. Shotguns are fired, axes are swung, faces are bashed. For the love of pelts, the Peter Pan books taught as wrong—this is what war among aboriginals looks like. The film begins with a testosterone-driven start but in its entirety the film succeeds in bringing out heavy themes of loss and redemption.
Full review here: www.filmpolicereviews.com/reviews/the-revenant