1060. Revenant

The Revenant
2015
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! In honor of this holiday, I chose to review a movie that celebrates Native American culture...well, give me a break. There aren't a lot to choose from.

This movie tells the "true" story of Hugh Glass, a frontiersman who is mauled by a bear and abandoned by his companions. Leo is going to get his Oscar, dammit, even it means getting horizontal with the local wildlife.

I was a little worried about Leo during this performance, as I find him most appealing when he is speaking (which is why he will always be the perfect Romeo to me), but surprise, surprise, I didn't actually mind staring at mute Leo for hours. I did feel like everyone was taking the film a bit too seriously. After all, it was a survival/revenge story, not a biopic about a civil rights leader. Let's calm down a little bit, Inarritu. This did not need to be nearly three hours long. In fact, if it wasn't for Leo's and Hardy's star power, this movie would be rather forgettable.

If you are looking for a good wildlife/man vs. bear story (and who isn't?), I would definitely recommend The Edge over this. No one ever mentions that movie, but it is much more...subtle than this.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

DiCaprio actually ate a real raw slab of bison liver, as the one they gave him to use looked too fake.

Is it truly a Leo DiCaprio movie if he isn't haunted by images of his dead wife?

The real Hugh Glass didn't have a son or a wife. I guess we only like revenge stories when the guy is avenging his family, not himself. That would just be petty.