Review of The Revenant (2015) by Leon B — 12 Jun 2016

Review:

What a brilliant movie! It did take me some time to watch, because I kept on rewinding the amazing bear fighting scenes, and I was totally gripped throughout. The whole "lost in the wilderness" experience was believable and very well directed. The cinematography was truly amazing and the intensity, right from the beginning, was unique and brilliantly performed from the whole cast. DiCaprio (Hugh Glass), really pushed the boundaries with his realistic performance, and the emotion that he showed, in such an impossible situation, was definitely an Oscar winning achievement. Personally, I think that Tom Hardy should have won an Oscar for his performance, because he was the perfect villain and he sported the rough look well, which reminded me a lot of Barnes (Tom Berenger), in Platoon, who was also was a warrior and turned against his fellow soldier. Anyway, I didn't know anything about this film before I watched it, so I was a bit worried about the length of the film but I personally could have done with an other hour. The whole revenge side of the movie, was totally understandable but I still think that he was able to get back on his feet, a bit too quick. The director also gave the Indians an understandable mission but they were quite creepy and brutal. The showdown at the end, was definitely worth waiting for but I just couldn't get over the beer scene near the beginning, which caused the main problem with Glass right from the start. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and it has to be the best film of this year so far. Brilliant!

Round-Up:

With films like Minions, Frozen and Transformers making over a Billion dollars at the box office, it's a shame that a movie like this, doesn't get the returns that it deserves. It certainly won a lot of awards and it has firmly put the Mexican director, Alejandro G. Inarritu, 52, on the map, but I still think that it deserved more. As he also wrote this movie, he certainly gave this project his all, and with all of the location problems, due to weather, it was a miracle that it finally got released. He also directed, the successful Birdman, which also won a lot of awards but I personally don't think it was anywhere near as great, as this movie. Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem was also a well made film, and with 21 Grams and Babel in his filmography, he has a lot to be thankful for. After having 2 successful years on the trot, in terms of awards and box office takings, it will be good to see what he comes up with next, and I'm sure that the pressure to release another successful hit, will make him take a break for a while, and give it much thought.

Budget: $135million.

Worldwide Gross: $532.5million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/adventure/thrillers starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Paul Anderson, Kristoffer Joner and Joshua Burge. 8/10.