MOVIE REVIEW: THE REVENANT

Director
Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Cast
Leonardo Dicaprio, Tom Hardy.

Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy star in this fascinating, but extremely long wilderness adventure movie. They lead a group of frontier men, whose assignment to hunt wildlife and bring back the fur pelts get thwarted by a surprising and vicious attack by Native Americans. Some of the large group of men barely escape with their lives, and they begin the long trek back with whatever they managed to hold on to. The two main characters differ on what the best plan of action is.
When an animal attack causes there to be another challenge on their way back to the base, the intentions of one character reveals itself to be truly evil, leading to one character to be left for dead. The story evolves into a Man versus Nature /revenge movie.

One of things that really stunned me was the sheer brutality in some of the scenes. The violence here is completely believable and realistic. Along with the breathtaking cinematography, this may be one of the best directed film of the year.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu did an absolutely brilliant job of making this feel like an accurate story. There didn’t seem to be any “Hollywood” magic at play here. The actors were out in these brutal weather conditions and you can feel the elements wearing at them.

Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy both turn in outstanding performances here. Although the storyline isn’t really that complicated, that simplicity really heightens the beauty of the incredible visuals.

Grade 4 out of 5

-Markellus