Not your average Oscars movie

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2016)

The Revenant is, for the most of it, DiCaprio crawling and moaning. Of course, that gets tiring at some point. The movie could, easily, be half an hour shorter, and that would perhaps make it more enjoyable. But also The Revenant is a very ambitious movie. On the technical side, it is flawless, and it uses the natural scenarios, the lights and the sound perfectly. It is even more impressive when you know that it was only shot with natural light! At some points it seems like the plot (which isn't precisely noteworthy) is just an excuse for Iñárritu to shoot a wildlife documentary, because the landscapes are truly breathtaking, and they take a considerable amount of screen time.
What is most memorable from this film is, I think, the camera techniques. From extensively long shots depicting intense battle scenes, to clever, smooth transitions between scenes, the use of the camera has become something of Iñárritu's trademark. What I found most interesting was the ways in which he breaks the fourth wall at different points of the movie; from DiCaprio's final closeup to the staining of the camera with the actor's breath/blood. Acting-wise, Hardy's performance is definitely Oscar-worthy, unlike, in my opinion, DiCaprio's (not that he is a bad actor; I just wouldn't give an Oscar to a performance that is mostly, as I said before, moaning and crawling).
With its length, lack of dialogue, and somewhat experimental directing, this is not the most usual Hollywood's awards season blockbuster. One would expect the Academy to prefer more discreet dramas in the lines of The King's Speech or Million Dollar Baby, but, who knows, maybe I'm mistaken.