Masterful directing and boorish storytelling

Rating: 8/10 (21 May 2019)

The Revenant is a film I wish I could have seen in the theaters. It's so nice to get big films like this which make a historical setting and all it entails... feel real. You feel like you are in this time period. Everything about this film looks amazing and is shot masterfully. Leonardo Decaprio's acting is amazing, as is Tom Hardy's own performance. There's several stirring sequences and themes that are hard hitting. However, this film drags on and outstays its welcome. It's sluggish pace goes past world-building and into excess. By the time, the final confrontation is happening, you just wish it would be over. At least, I did. It can also be ridiculously over the top. It's first battle which is a one-take would be impressive it it wasn't just one person getting backstabbed and then backstabbed by another for five minutes straight. The terrifying grizzly bear sequence just keeps going, and so does the last fight scene. Movies need to know when to end and how to pace themselves. And this film does not. Despite those gripes, I feel giving this film anything less than 8 is a disservice, even if I didn't not much enjoy it. The director, the cinematographers, and the actor's truly made this film.