Amazing in every regard except for story.

Rating: 9/10 (17 January 2018)

Its a shame that in a movie with such exceptional directing, acting, cinematography, music, and production design that the story couldn't have been amazing as well. That's not to say that the story here is necessarily bad it just feels a little thin especially for a 2 1/2 hour film.
There are definitely elements of a compelling story here, especially when it comes to the internal and external conflicts of the two main characters, Hugh Glass and John Fitzgerald (played marvelously by Leonardo DiCaprio in a career best performance and Tom Hardy) Hardy in particular is the most fleshed out and interesting character and has several monologues that let you get to know him as a person and its pretty riveting.
The movie clearly is not trying to be story driven, instead its more focused on imagery and themes and does both very well. In fact basically everything about this movie is spectacular hence the high rating, but if it had a better story this could easily be a 10/10 and one of the greatest films ever made. Still worth a watch at least once, especially if your interested in making films yourself someday because their is plenty of mastery here both behind and in front of the camera.
To talk a little more in detail about the acting its superb all around. I'm not always the biggest fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, in fact I think he has given many overrated/underwhelming performances, but he knocks it out of the park here with a subtle and nuanced performance. DiCaprio shows a ton of emotion here despite not having very many lines which is not something I would have thought was in his ability's but I was proven wrong here.
Tom Hardy is exceptional as the main antagonist of the film. He does a good job making his character not feel evil necessarily, but like an ordinary man who's trying to survive and painfully unfeeling towards his fellow man due to his past. Its Hardy's best work since Bronson.
Will Poulter and Domhnall Gleeson are also both totally believable in supporting roles as well.