Stunning visuals, tense action

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2019)

"The Revenant" is a visual and visceral triumph. There are magnificent landscapes, rushing rivers, raging waterfalls, brilliant skies. You truly feel enveloped by nature and sense the constant struggle that the main character, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), endures as he battles the harsh elements. Nature puts Glass, an experienced fur trapper, through a lot, but his fellow man turns out to be far more vicious. DiCaprio's performance as Glass is truly grueling; he has relatively little dialogue (mostly because he's struggling to survive), but he transmits every emotion in the book as he endures agonizing physical and emotional pain, and ultimately, spiritual enlightenment. "The Revenant" has some tense, well-staged action scenes amid spectacular scenery and set to a lush symphonic score. Tom Hardy is pure evil as vicious trapper Fitzgerald, Glass' enemy and the object of his vengeance. Hardy's and DiCaprio's scenes together fairly crackle as these two characters battle it out in some epic fight scenes. Some of the dialogue and plot is hard to follow, perhaps because the film goes for authenticity over clarity in some aspects. However, it offers stark beauty and at times, dreadful terror.