A cinematic experience

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2016)

After being left for dead the main protagonist Hugh Glass sets out on a path of vengeance on the ones who has left him to die. Based off of the incredible true story of fur trapper Hugh Glass.
This film is gritty and rugged, watching Leo's Hugh Glass pull himself through the brutalities and struggles you could really feel the pain and agony of this character. The geography of the location is epic and the sheer size and spectacle of the landscapes really reflects the journey that Hugh Glass has to take. Watching the movie really immerses the audience with this environment that Hugh Glass has to push through.
The Revenant had such amazing cinematography and was just beautiful, an incredible feat when considering that the entire film was shot under natural lighting. Through using the lighting of the different natural elements it makes the film feel so much more organic and really makes it an immersive experience. The wilderness and remote locations where these scenes were shot are spectacular. This film needed to be shot entirely under natural lighting to do this landscape justice. Watching everything Hugh Glass is put through and this journey he takes, this is something different. The sheer epicness and scale of the film was definitely worth the ticket.
This film was not only gritty and violent but gets really disturbing, you just see this man against nature throughout the entire film. Glass goes through punishment after punishment, you really see how small he is amongst this vast landscape yet he stays in there time after time. This one man is being pit against this entire landmass (very well shown as this grand environment through the cinematography) it is a film of human accomplishment. One of the scenes involving a bear was one of the most amazing and brutal scenes I have ever seen yet it wasn't over the top and is instead very realistic which I feel is a great thing the pull off in addition to all the other amazing work done in this film.
Leo Dicaprio is really good in this film too, he pulls of this character who is mostly isolated in this film and even with other people around barely says anything. His physical performance sold all of these emotions, while he was paralyzed you could just see his struggling and agony of unable to do something or move. When he is pushing through all of these challenges he was shaking, shivering and absolutely in pain yet his facial expressions tell another story, a focused attention and a very clear target.
All of this combined makes it so exciting yet realistic at the same time. Terrific acting, great cinematography and gritty action makes this film amazing. One of the only flaws would probably be its prolonged run time as the second act could get kinda repetitive but overall it was great amazing style and doesn't lack substance either. Watching The Revenant was an immersive experience, it is more than just a third person look at a story but audiences are really indulged is this environment.