A story of survival triggered by the powerful desire for revenge.

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2016)

I must admit that going to see this movie, I was expecting prolonged boring scenes to serve the purpose of brutal loneliness in the wild. However, the opening scenes of mini battles between native tribes and the fur trapping squad, the theatrical method by which the director captures these moments drew me right in. Certainly the director with his cast and crew members spared no effort to depict man's merciless battle over the riches of one land, the rawness and brutality of how far a man would go to survive death even if it was on the expense of another man's life.
Without a doubt the director's decision to shoot this movie in the hostile wilderness made the movie what it is and helped the actors rise to the state of mind of the real life characters who lived that same rawness and hostility.
What intensifies this piece of great work are the two gravely talented actors, Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy, playing Hugh Glass and John Fitzegerald. These two continue to excel and prove that they are indeed the best in their generation. Leo with his amazing utilization of his body and face to portray the character's agony, despair and finally determination was behind yet another Oscar nomination. Tom Hardy,on the other hand, as John Fitzegerald shows off his humongous acting skills with the use of his eyes and voice, as the rest of his face is covered in this big beard, to create this unyielding, rugged and sometimes seemingly unstable character, that also won him the appraise of the academy with a nomination for best actor in a supporting role.
The movie would not have been the same without those two men.
The Revenant has been nominated for 12 Academy awards including best picture, best lead actor and best actor in a supporting role and I am rooting for this movie in all these categories.