It was...A movie.

Rating: 4/10 (5 March 2016)

Since there are already reviews on here that have broken "The Revenant" down way better than I will, I'll just say this -- it's a movie. If you want to watch something for the experience of having watched it because everyone else is buzzing, you won't be disappointed. It'll give you the few choice scenes to keep you in conversations, but I don't think it has nearly enough substance to resonate with someone looking for something more.
Personally, I find this movie to be extremely overrated. Not in the sense that it's terrible, but in the sense that it's amazingly average. All the criticisms I've read from other people are fair in saying that the character development is flawed and that you don't engage enough emotionally to really care when something dramatic happens. Unless you're an avid movie buff who can survive on almost 3 hours of torture and brutality for an easily predictable ending, I certainly wouldn't recommend this film to you.
It lacks, in my opinion, a strong enough foundation to really make you concerned over any of the characters well-being...Including Glass (played by DiCaprio). You may be able to feel for the physical pain he's suffering throughout, but his emotional journey didn't resonate with me in the least. His deceased wife only exists in glimpses of his near-death flashbacks, and he and his son exchange maybe 10 lines of actual dialogue with each other. The rest of the film can be summed up with a lot of crawling, a lot of grunting, and a slow (but steady) progression from a should-be-dead man to a hobbled guy with nothing to lose and revenge on his mind.
And from the moment he's wronged, you know what Glass's story arc's going to be. There's very little deviation from what you think's going to happen and what actually happens...Save a few close calls and run-ins to break up the monotony of all that crawling and grunting, of course. All in all, I'd rate this film at a 4/10. I didn't love it...I wouldn't recommend it to many people...And I have no intention of watching it again. I think the Oscar really was an "I Owe You" to Leo more than it was an actual validation of the film itself. Or maybe this year's crop of movies just weren't all that great. Either way, watch with caution...It may not be as amazing as your friend seems to think it is.