Interesting tale of survival and revenge

Rating: 7/10 (7 January 2016)

Interesting tale of survival and revenge.
Set in America in the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), is attacked and badly mauled by a bear. He is left for dead by his comrades. Meanwhile a group of Indians are after him. Thus starts his fight for survival and revenge...
Loosely based on a true story, this is part drama movie, part action movie. Written and directed by Alejandro Gozalez Inarritu, who usually directs emotional human dramas which veer from interesting and profound (Ammores Perros, Birdman, Babel) to dull and pretentious (21 Grams, Biutiful), this is a bit of a departure for him. The dramatic touches - dream sequences, symbolism - are still there but the action side is new.
And therein lies some of the problems with the movie. The drama, catering for his existing followers, seems, at times, overwrought and padded. Some of the dream sequences and flashbacks weren't entirely necessary.
Then we have the action, there to cater for the short attention spans of Generations Y and Z. Some of it is good, and contributes to the movie, but some of it feels very clumsy and just action for the sake of it.
This all said, the plot is interesting and engaging. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a good performance in the lead role. Tom Hardy is solid as the villain (though I would have preferred if he didn't try to make his voice so unintelligible).
Superb scenery and cinematography.
It does drag towards the end though, as Inarritu adds sub-plots and scenes that don't really add much. He slows the pacing down too. The final scene is inevitable and largely predictable.
Overall: a good movie, but not a great one.