Incredible movie, breathtaking shots and stellar performances.

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2016)

The Revenant is one of those movies that you simply must watch at the cinema. If Leonardo doesn't win an Oscar for his awe-inspiring performance, I really don't know what will win him one.
First, I want to give Alejandro González Iñárritu props for pulling off some of the best shots I've ever seen. Almost every shot was carefully thought about and looked absolutely stunning, and Alejandro managed to picture the look of early 19th century America perfectly, and the nature of the film allowed for so many shots which were more than pleasing to the eye. I highly doubt anyone would have done a better job at directing such an ambitious film than Alejandro, so I say he did incredible work.
Leonardo DiCaprio did a phenomenal job at portraying a vengeful man with nothing but survival and revenge at mind, who was savagely mauled to the brink of death by a grizzly. In Hollywood there aren't many actors I would say rival Leonardo when it comes to putting heart and soul into movies, and Leonardo managed to hold his position as one of the best actors in history. The Revenant starts off with Leonardo being a bad ass hunter and skilled tracker, and after the incident with the bear, it transforms into more of a survival film with Leonardo's character 'Hugh Glass' going above and beyond to get revenge on Tom Hardy's character 'John Fitzgerald'. Tom played a character who's sole purpose is to survive and lead a prosperous life perfectly. Fitzgerald wasn't much of a team player and more often than not prioritised his life over others, leading to him being portrayed as the big bad of this movie. However, he pulls it off superbly. The final character I want to mention is Domhnall Gleeson's 'Captain Andrew Henry'. Although he wasn't the most fleshed out and interesting individual, he did a great job at being the good cop of the film. Without his friendliness and sense of companionship, I feel the movie wouldn't have been as riveting.
Since most of this film revolves around action sequences, tension and characters, as well as incredible shots, the pace was a tiny bit off. The first 20 minutes or so consists of tension and action and then it drops off up until the bear attack. From that point on the pacing seemed to slow down and at some times I wasn't as engaged in the story as I had hoped. However keeping viewers constantly engaged would have been near impossible to accomplish since the movie was a whopping 156 minutes long. Nevertheless, the movie was outstanding and managed to do a good job of keeping viewers interested.
Overall, 'The Revenant' is a must see in the cinema, with absolutely jaw dropping shots, landscape and environment, as well as incredible acting my Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. Go and watch it as soon as you can.