What's a beautiful plate with nothing on it?

Rating: 1/10 (3 August 2016)

If ever there was a case of style over substance, The Revenant is it. Visually stunning, yes, but films have always been about more than that. If something nice to look at is what you want, go and stare at a painting or a photo for 2 and a half hours.
This isn't a bad film in the way that Adam Sandler films are bad, it's a bad film because there is nothing (bar the visuals) to enjoy. It is so unrelentingly grim, with zero character development, It left me asking, am I meant to care? As the film opens with the slaughter of half the group, it's a pretty brutal scene, but with no impact, as we weren't even introduced to them. This serves as a recurring problem throughout the running time.
The only thing interesting thing about this movie is that it serves as a metaphor for DiCaprio's own struggle to earn an Oscar. His character goes through so much Hell to survive, has everything thrown at him, and its' almost like Leo is pleading to the Academy - 'Look, look! See what I'm willing to put myself though?!'To be fair, it paid off in that respect.