Downhill after the first twenty minutes

Rating: 5/10 (22 March 2018)

This movie fails a basic test for me: is the ending better, or at least as good, as the beginning. The answer is a firm no. The first twenty minutes are really good, and the bear scene is painstaking and amazing. But after that it all muddles through. It's beautiful, yes, and I can see the filmmaker and scriptwriter trying to bring in action when it lulls. But the side plots (an abducted indigenous woman, the moral questions of side characters) are beside the point and never go anywhere.
And like many films, the middle is about 45 minutes too long. When filmmakers and stars get enough power, they seem to reach a point where few people are willing to tell them to trim. The Revenant is case in point.