Visually and Aurally Stunning - Those Carry This Film

Rating: 7/10 (1 January 2016)

A visually and aurally stunning film that captured and held my attention from beginning to end - for those two reasons primarily. This is a familiar story - albeit in a rather unique setting of unrelenting cold and unforgiving wilderness - that has been told a multitude of times before: a man's loving family is killed needlessly, man then overcomes challenges to seek revenge and redemption. Therein, to me, lies this film's greatest weakness and the main reason I did not rate it higher - for all intents and purposes, we've seen the story before and pretty much know instinctively how it will turn out. The story really doesn't throw us much in the way of curves or unexpected turns. As noted, the film's greatest strength lies in the production and sound design and the stunning cinematography, both of which could be Oscar worthy. While I am not a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, in my view he did an admirable job getting across the pain and desperation of the main character. I don't think I would go so far as to say that his performance is Oscar worthy; in my view an actor must rise above putting in a "solid and admirable performance" to get to the lofty heights of an Oscar. For me, the other weakness in the film - and some may not have found this the problem that I did - is Tom Hardy's performance. While his characterization was outstanding and properly menacing and nuanced, his accent was so thick at times that, despite a good sound system, I was often unable to understand what he was saying. This was unfortunately a major distraction for me as a viewer. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend viewing this film at least once primarily for the stunning visuals and sound design that makes you feel that you are right there in nature with the characters on the screen.