Rating of
4/4
Through Hell and Back
Unknown - wrote on 01/18/16
'The Revenant' is the surprisingly quick followup to director Inarritu's Best Picture win for last year's awesome 'Birdman'. His style is a heavy presence throughout. Massively beautiful shots of real landscapes - filled with wild animals, harsh weather, and even harsher humans to populate it. The way he films the action on screen is breathtaking! Many single-shot long-take scenes are beyond impressive. They also serve a purpose to the story, drawing us in close and guiding us along the treacherous journey. This is a simple tale of unbelievable survival told with brutal realism. It's shockingly violent, but never in a way that turns you off from the characters and their trials. Our main character, Glass, literally goes through hell and back. He's reduced to absolutely nothing, one breath away from death, only to find the powerful strength within to (basically) bring himself back to life. He's also driven by deep vengeance for the man who killed his son and almost did the same to him. Every new encounter he faces in the wilderness is riveting. It's made all the more tense due to his slowly regenerative physical state. By the time it reaches the climactic confrontation, we feel as if we've been reborn from a journey through hell and back. The passion and hardship that went into this film most definitely resonates. 'The Revenant' is a great achievement.
