Great Moving Film

Rating: 9/10 (15 February 2016)

Reading several of the negative reviews of this great film made my blood boil.
How dare you say this there is no character development? This is not a mini-series! There are time constraints and developing character generally takes more than three hours. God, you people can be awful, spoiled ingrates. This film brought me to tears during several scenes.
Getting that off my chest, I will now provide my opinion of this incredible production; which was completed in less than one year.
The Revenant is long at over 2 1/2 hours. And yes, it is a bit too long. Actually it is not, for those not marred by the instant gratification evidenced in modern society (you poor souls!). The cinematography and plot are so exceptional you won't notice the unusually long length.
The initial scene involving the battle with the Indians is stunning in its chaos and unpredictability. The viewer doesn't know who will live and die and by what means. The battle lines are obscured to a degree not seen in may films I've viewed.
The rest of the film is a long slog through nature in its extreme challenges and is moving. You may question the motivations and decisions of the subjects, but these are all conjecture by the director based on his interpretation of the true story.
I will watch this film again with the closed capture enabled because I only understood about 80% of what was said. It will be worthwhile in my opinion because, in its essence, this film depicts the good and evil, along with the greed and selflessness, in every man.