God giveth, God taketh away. (Minor spoilers)

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2015)

After winning the Oscar for Birdman last year, Alejandro González Iñárritu takes the viewers into a much different setting with The Revenant. The Revenant is the story of Hugh Glass, remarkably portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is left for dead by his fellow fur- trappers after he encounters a bear which terrifyingly mauls him. The scene is undoubtedly one of the boldest, gut-wrenching and wonderfully captured scene the Hollywood has ever done.
There is also a sub-plot here, which shines light on the Natives (Arikara) about how they once held all of America and are now just an endangered species on the brink of extinction as one of the natives says in the film : "You all have stolen everything from us. The land, the animals."
One of the recurring theme in the movie is that how the elder member does whatever he can to protect his family. This theme is not only restricted to humans, but also to the animals which is understood when the bear slashes Glass in an attempt to protect her cubs. The skulls of the bulls, which appear many times in Glass' visions, symbolize the same theme. Bull or bison, is mostly referred in Native Indian traditions to a strong,powerful animal which never backs down from a struggle and always strives to protect it's family.
Tom Hardy plays a brilliant villain, who though isn't always wrong, but has little to none redeeming qualities making him a cold- hearted, harsh and an uncompromising villain. The rest of the crew don't have major involvement in the plot but play their roles perfectly.
The aspect of the movie that excels and stands out most is its beautiful cinematography. Emmanuel Lubezki has once again done an incredible job capturing beautiful imagery and landscapes completely immersing the viewer in the setting. I could feel every cold breeze as it passed, every splash of water and an overwhelming feeling after looking at the beauty of nature.
In conclusion, The Revenant is a pulse pounding,absorbing and visceral journey which perfectly captures the time period and the setting. It is a pure survival story providing a simple plot which is perfectly executed with every actor playing their roles perfectly so viewers can connect to them and every shot is gorgeous enough to move the viewer inside and keep him seated for this incredibly epic and mesmerizing journey.
The Revenant deserves a 9/10.