A physically arduous film in the best way possible.

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2016)

The Revenant, straight off the bat is a great film, the acting is incredible with the standouts being Leonardo DiCaprio, Domhnall Gleeson and Tom Hardy in my opinion even outshining DiCaprio in some scenes. Ultimately though the best performance was delivered by DiCaprio. It takes place in 1820's America, following frontiersman Hugh Glass on a journey of revenge sparked during a fur trading expedition gone wrong.
The effects were astonishing as well, every shot in this film looks like a dope screensaver, the make-up is fantastic and the film is scored perfectly. The film is long (at 2 hrs 36 mins) and certainly feels long but I honestly couldn't look away from the screen. It takes realism to the next level with camera work and cinematography (being shot with only natural light) and the violence is not clean either, it's gritty, realistic and hard to watch but its very appropriate for the subject matter.This film is also very respectful in it's portrayal of native Americans.
All in all the pure devotion to this film really shines through due to the hard work of the passionate cast and crew, DiCaprio's devotion to this project alone is outstanding. To some this may seem long and arduous and hard to watch due to the extreme violence and gritty, realistic tone of the film but I found it thoroughly entertaining and would probably watch it for the scenery alone. Great flick, psyched to watch it again.