"it's real but it's not interesting"

Rating: 6/10 (8 January 2016)

You will hear a lot about how difficult the filmmaking process (though it was not shot on film, but digital) was in The Revenant. You will hear a lot about the length the actors, director and crew went to make things real. But to quote Jack Nicholson quote Stanley Kubrick:
"Jack, it's real but it's not interesting."
There's a lot of good work from every member of the cast and crew of the show here. I commend them all on their fine work. But I did not identify with anybody except Arthur Redcloud's Hikuc, and even then, his appearance is all too brief. This movie would be easier to review if there was more wrong with it, but I cannot offer some academic or faux intellectual retort. My personal criticism is just that, personal. And my personal opinion was I simply did not feel invested in any of the characters in the movie or what they went through.
Instead of a journey, surviving to the predictable end feels like a slog. And when it was all over. I really didn't feel anything for anybody. Maybe it's just me. I'll accept that.
Iñnaritu is a master of despair, but he isn't a dramatist and Revenant hasn't advanced his craft.
If you are interested in films about the trials of survival or snowy mindscapes, try "Touching the Void." The tonally similar, and far more contrived, "The Gray" is another one I would rather watch. I just found myself far more invested in watching Liam Neeson face off with a wolf than Leo sleep in a horse carcass.