Unquestionably one of the most beautiful movies ever made...

Rating: 8/10 (14 February 2020)

...and with its various components, also one of the most unique. The sets and costumes, and filth against the landscape, the exquisite photography and framing and choreography are reference material.
But it's the slavish long takes and the way they're stitched together that sometimes detracts from the flow, encouraging you to think more technically about it.
Tom Hardy is superb, a very different but equally good performance to DiCaprio as a proper balls to bone villain. Even though his mad babbling is brilliant, the film is neck deep in too much dialogue; The Revenant is a film where the esoteric imagery and stillness fight against the action and the obvious long takes and both fight against the hamfisted plot delivery and talking. It's a film that could have been excellent at one of those three things but with all of them in abundance, doesn't quite feel like an out of body experience, instead feels a lot like a well calculated man made movie.
DiCaprio's pain is palpable, the locations are blisteringly raw and untouched by humankind, and the final fight for revenge is like a video game QTE from the year 2045. It's memorable and epic and in many ways a masterpiece, but it's far from perfect.