The Revenant is a great experience, but not exactly the perfect film.

Rating: 7/10 (11 January 2016)

Inarritu's directorial style, including the patented long single takes, the lack of music during action sequences, and of course, his choice of camera work, allows for viewers to feel like as if they had just witnessed something real. I came out of the theater feeling like I had just witnessed a video recording of a real massacre, or a real bear mauling and of course, a real journey of a man on a mission--a mission to survive and get revenge on a man who left him for dead. The Revenant is a fantastic experience and felt extremely realistic, but unfortunately, the film fell short in several categories.
For a revenge tale, I found it to be a bit melodramatic, and I just didn't have that same emotional attachment to the story like I had with movies such as Gladiator or Dances With Wolves. Don't get me wrong, I loved Tom Hardy's performance, he stole every scene, but a lot of his role was entirely improvised on his part and I heard that he didn't even read the script for this film. As good as he was, I much would've preferred a more complex villain, with a deeper back-story and a deeper personal dynamic with the protagonist.
Speaking of the protagonist, I thought DiCaprio was superb, and if he ever wins an Oscar, I'd clap for him because he deserves it not only for his expressive but silent acting, but for his stunts too. Supposedly, Leonardo DiCaprio was actually forced to endure an immersion into an ice-cold freezing river, a real blizzard and he even ate raw meat. He'll be nominated for this role and the film will have garnered many nominations come next month, but I'm not sure it will rack up any wins in the screenplay department. I loved the beautiful Indian proverbs sprinkled throughout the story but it was lacking in character development.
All in all, a visceral, cringe-worthy experience, and a movie that I would surely watch again despite being a bit longer in run-time than necessary. I also thought that there was a lot more CGI in the film than I expected, especially when it came to the wild-life. I was hoping to see dozens of horses on the screen at once, a real herd of buffalo, or a real pack of wolves, but there wasn't any. However, despite that minor gripe, I thought the set design, art direction, make-up, props, and the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. Do yourself a favor and watch this film in the theater for the best effect. I give the Revenant an 8 out of 10, two points short of a masterpiece!