One of the Best Films in Recent Memory

Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2016)

I think of myself as an amateur film critic, and because of that I often find myself being let down by movies that are popular with mass audiences. I tend to be critical of things that others never notice, it's not at all unusual for me to go see the latest blockbuster that everyone is talking about and leave feeling quite let down. As such, I went into "The Revenant" with a bit of skepticism--it's getting rave reviews, but would it really be as good as everyone is saying? I assumed that the answer was probably no.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this movie is one of the best films in recent memory. Indeed, "instant classic" is not too strong a term here. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a pioneer in the American west whose party is attacked by Indians. The attack leaves the group's numbers decimated, and DiCaprio spends most of the movie injured beyond hope of recovery, only to regain his health and have to overcome the wild frontier to meet back up with his lost group of explorers.
One of the things that makes this movie great is that it is in every way a bona fide "Western", but without the hackneyed conventions of most films in that genre. You won't find any cowboy hats in this movie, or a soundtrack from a spaghetti flick. The film is based on real events that occurred in 1823, and as such the attire and wardrobe of the cast is firmly "pioneer". And yet, the movie is nothing if not accurately called a cowboys and Indians film--indeed, probably the most realistic such film to have ever been made, at least so far as showing tensions between natives and Europeans. And the film's climax is as intriguing and suspenseful as any Western out there--no marching ten paces to turn and shoot type of thing, mind you, but an epic showdown between the film's main characters.
If I had to offer up any criticism for this movie it would be the simple fact that I find it impossible to see Leonardo DiCaprio as whatever role he's playing these days. Sure, he's a good actor, and he certainly put himself through a lot to make this movie. But I still felt like I was watching Leonardo DiCaprio, not the character he was assigned to play. That doesn't make his performance bad--it just means that the film might have benefited from going with a different actor who wasn't quite so overused at this point. The movie is strong enough to stand on its own merits without DiCaprio's presence--but this one qualm aside, Dicaprio's being overused still doesn't detract from the movie.
I'd also note that the movie does start a little bit....not slow, really, but just in a way that I found hard to get into at first. Fortunately the story grew on me as it went along. I wasn't sure how I felt about the direction of the film thirty minutes into things, but by the second hour I was quite hooked.
All in all, I have to give this one a perfect ten stars. I saved this one for the last of this year's eight Best Picture nominees, having watched all seven in a row in hopes that the crowd might be right for once and that "The Revenant" would indeed be the Best Picture of 2015. I enjoyed all the other movies this year, especially "The Martian", which was my favorite going into this film. But I must say that "The Revenant" proved to be in a class by itself. This one stands apart as the kind of movie that isn't just enjoyable, but an iconic epic that will be remembered for years to come. Bravo. 10/10.