It was so good I'll just complain about essentially nothing.

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2016)

The Revenant was without a doubt a completely fleshed out ride from start to finish. It was one seemingly hopeless trial after another for Glass and the viewer had to helplessly sit and watch, hoping and praying that nothing else would go wrong(though something always did). In my opinion the camera work set a very specific and fitting tone, giving the feeling of being more of an onlooker who was right there with the characters, rather than the choppy editing styles that seem to be becoming more popular these days. The viewer was treated to continuous shots that didn't feel too long or drawn out, and did exactly what they were supposed to do. By the end of the film you absolutely abhorred Fitzgerald which is a massive credit to the performance of Tom Hardy, felt real sympathy for Bridges and just wanted Glass to get out alive! There was so much good in this movie, I think it may be more interesting to point out some of the few things that I have minor issues with. Firstly, in the (absolutely fantastic) sequence with the bear. This scene was magnificent, the bear looked wonderful and DiCaprio really did look like he was being mauled by a wild animal. The only thing that bothered me was that after the bear believed it had killed Glass, it stood on his head. There is no reason for the bear to take any of its full body weight off of Glass's head. I'm not an expert but I imagine that 270Kg (googled average grizzly weight) is more than enough to crush anyone's skull. Secondly, and finally, there is a scene where Glass is facing the camera and his breath fogs up the lens before he passes out. While this led to a nice transition into another shot, it did not really follow any kid of previous or upcoming interactions with the 4th wall. Again, this is literally all I can "complain" about. Perhaps some movie goers may find the pacing a bit hard to deal with if they aren't able to be engrossed by the story like a lot of people seemingly were. Honestly If I had to pick out the one thing that surprised me the most in the entire movie though, through all the insane things that transpired throughout Glass's journey, it was something very small towards the end. When Glass swings his hatchet at Fitzgerald and just barely clips some of his fingers off in the final fight, it made me reel more than any of the other violence throughout the film. I believe this is because it seemed so believable and comparatively mundane against the other instances of combat. Overall The Revenant was a beautiful, bumpy ride. personally I don't need to see it again, and that's not a bad thing. I feel like I have gone through this ordeal with Glass and do not intend to be put through it again. It was filled with gorgeous scenery, amazing performances from the entire cast (great work by Will Poulter, hope he keeps it up), and a captivating story, I would absolutely recommend this film to anyone who can take it.