The technical are the only aspects to take away from this one.

Rating: 6/10 (25 January 2016)

Google defines revenant as: a person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead. It is safe then to say that I was a Revenant after finishing Alejandro G. Iñárritu's big budget 2015 film. Strapping in for a 2.5+ hour film, that I was ensured would be pure cinema mastery, The Revenant proved to be a grave disappointment. All of the buzz from critics and fans only assure me that herd mentality is alive and well, and far more prevalent that even Friedrich Nietzsche could have envisioned.
The audience is introduced to explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) early on in the film. A legend in his own right, Glass is charged with making sure his fellow fur trappers get home safely, as he is the one who knows the open country best. Joined by his son, Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) who is half Native American, Hugh is no stranger to tragedy. His Native American wife was killed by white soldiers, devastating Hugh and set him on a vagabond lifestyle afraid to call anywhere home too long. Along the journey, a long (seemingly endless) winter ensues and the group is forced to make difficult decisions to get home safely. Glass is seen as the most knowledgeable in regards to traveling which upsets another group member, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) who almost always disagrees with Glass's assessment of whatever situation is at hand. After being viciously attacked by a bear, Glass is rendered incapacitated, unable to speak, and reliant on the group to return him to full health. The more brutal the winter becomes, the more Fitzgerald wants to leave Glass for dead and make headway along with the men, taking their firs to a big payday that awaits. Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), unable to pull the trigger and put Glass out of his misery, splits the group up, leaving Glass, Hawk, and the young Bridger (Will Poulter) to care for him and return home. Seeing an opportunity, Fitzgerald volunteers to join the boys and Glass along the way. After a scuffle with Hawk, then tricking Bridger, convincing him there are Native Americans on their trail ready to kill them, they leave Glass behind to fend for himself. In abandoning Glass, Fitzgerald goes against Captain Henry's orders that if Glass should take a turn for the worst, he is to have a proper burial. Believing he will die, Fitzgerald goes about traversing the wilderness with the unwilling Bridger (who sees what kind of man Fitzgerald really is). With nothing but anger and will power assisting him, Glass vows recovery with the notion that he will hunt Fitzgerald down over his betrayal. Forever dedicated to the memory of his family, Glass fervently searches revenge as vengeance overwhelms him.
Sadly being overshadowed by DiCaprio, as the belief persists that he is overdue for an Oscar, Tom Hardy performs exceptionally well in this film. He plays a simple, yet greedy man capable of evil incredibly convincingly. It is not easy to pull off such opposite personalities, yet Hardy's brilliance as an actor makes it look easy. DiCaprio, on the other hand, plays his part in a perfectly mediocre way. There wasn't a lot to the part of Hugh Glass. Anyone can feign revenge and freezing. Why this part was seen as such a difficulty escapes me, but "it's his year" they say. The cinematography was a thing of beauty, but how could it not be? When you have billions of billions of dollars and are using the great outdoors, you better turn out a fantastic product. The infamous bear scene was incredibly juvenile, as the CGI bear looked ridiculous against the real life wilderness. I understand Iñárritu's genius, as a I was a huge fan of Birdman, but he took everything that was good about Birdman and overdid it to the point of making it look ridiculous. What I do not understand is why Iñárritu chose to allow condensation and blood to splatter the camera. This was an odd decision as so much work was taken to establish realism; to then remind the audience that "this is just a movie, see?' was a peculiar maneuver. This film was also over the top in its use of gore. What is interesting to me is that the same reviewers that criticized Quentin Tarantino's Hateful Eight for over the top violence, have no problem for that same imposing gore in The Revenant. Just goes to show, if you are viewed as an artist, like Iñárritu, instead of a director like Tarantino, you can get by with a lot more in Hollywood.
What can be learned from The Revenant? Revenge should be left up to God, or the world, or Native Americans-whichever you prefer. If you are thinking, "ok, lots of movies share that message" so was I, but for some reason, I thought this movie would tell it differently—it does not. I trusted that The Academy saw something in The Revenant that I needed to see too; I remain unsure of what that "something" is. There are more problems than positives in The Revenant, and I am only left hoping for another Boyhood awards night; the movie everyone thought would win every award it was nominated for, yet only took home a single award. I am ever more convinced with each Best Picture nomination that I watch that The Academy really missed the boat on giving a nod to Carol.