The Revenant Review

Rating: 7/10 (23 April 2017)

I'm probably going to get some flak for the rating I am giving The Revenant, but I didn't think it was as good as everyone said it was. Stick around and see why.
Synopsis: While exploring the uncharted wilderness in 1823, legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass sustains injuries from a brutal bear attack. When his hunting team leaves him for dead, Glass must utilize his survival skills to find a way back home while avoiding natives on their own hunt. Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald, the former confidant who betrayed and abandoned him. Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu
Okay, if anyone knows the real story of this movie is based off of, then you know that Hugh Glass did not exact his revenge on the men who left him for dead. First thing, it wasn't the dead of winter when he was mauled, it was actually in the middle of the summer. His son wasn't killed by anyone, his son actually lived a full life. These are just two of the many things that have been changed. As I do understand why the film makers took the liberties with the story, I don't think they needed to take it that far. And truthfully, that is the main reason I gave the movie a 7.
The reason I gave it a 7 is because of how slow paced the movie was. Although it added to the tone of the movie, it just played out too long. The movie was only two and a half hours long, but until the last thirty minutes it felt like four hours. Adding that I constantly had to keep lowering and raising my volume didn't help.
There are a lot of good things though. Even though I didn't like the changes they did make to the story, I still love this story. I wish they would have kept it the real ending where Glass forgave the two men who left him. But, the story is still a tale of survival. The man had to go through a lot to walk up to the men and say what he had to say.
Alejandro is a great director. I absolutely love his movies, especially Babel and Biutiful. This is probably one of his not so good movies, but still better than most of his movies. Can't wait to see what he has next.
Do I think Leo deserved the Oscar for this movie? No I don't. Tom on the other hand should have won. He stole the show, once again. I honestly think the Academy gave Leo the award for all the years they passed him up. He did a decent job in this movie, but he didn't do anything to extreme like he has done in movies like Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator, Gangs of New York, or The Departed. Geez, I never realized he deserved the Oscar for movies he did with Scorsese
Final Thoughts: Even though I don't like the idea of them changing the story quite a bit I do believe this movie is a watchable movie, hands down.
Rating: 7 out of 10