Gripping but overlong

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2016)

Some of the best cinema of the year, but it goes on for too long and starts crumbling by the end. It's a simple revenge flick mixed with a survivalist tale. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a frontiersman with a half Indian son who has been hired to guide a group of trappers. After suffering an attack by Indians, DiCaprio is mauled by a bear. Unable to travel further, two men, Tom Hardy and Will Poulter, along with DiCaprio's son, stay behind to care for him until he dies, as they assume he will. Hardy doesn't really feel like it, though, so at the first opportunity he murders the son, tells Poulter (who didn't witness the murder) that the Indians are nearby, and buries DiCaprio in a shallow grave, still alive. DiCaprio eventually digs his way out and goes after Hardy to get his sweet, sweet revenge. The film is at its best when its in its you-are-there, in-the-actors'-faces phase, making you feel like part of the action. Its at its worst when it goes into flashbacks and DiCaprio's highly symbolic dreams. The final act is pretty silly, too. Domhnall Gleeson, who has really earned a vacation at this point, also co-stars.