Sgt_Gath
Diamond Member
- Jul 25, 2014
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The Revenant
Otherwise known as: "Leonardo DiCaprio and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."
Overall, I really liked this one. The casting was good, the scenery was beautiful, and the action was more than suitably intense to provide a decent adrenaline rush. The film does a good job of conveying just how Hellishly brutal life on the frontier must have been back in the day, and exactly what it took (for good or ill) to be the sort of man who could actually survive there.
It also avoids the usual overly politicized "Indian good, White Man bad" nonsense which tends to ruin these sorts of films. It's clear that both sides are capable of good and evil, and even misguidedly doing evil with the intention of doing good. Hell! It's clear that Indians and White men don't even necessarily exist as monolithic forces. They fight and factionalize amongst one another just as they do with the other side.
Simply speaking, the film deals in numerous shades of grey, rather than black or white. That is a definite strength.
My only major complaint would be that the film is somewhat overlong, self-indulgent, and lacking in focus. The plot drags on and meanders at several points, and I felt like its pacing could have benefited from some streamlining of those elements. I also felt at times like the film wasn't really sure what it wanted to be - ultra moody period piece, survival story, or revenge flick. It came off as being something of a "jack of all trades, but master of none" for that exact reason.
The "Oscar-baiting" was a little too blatant in some scenes as well. This was paired with some, additional, minor continuity errors here and there. Honest to God - I think I saw Leo fire a single shot musket pistol three or four times at one point without ever stopping to reload, and some of his early "survival" scenes seemed a bit too cavalier on the subject.
It doesn't really explain how he avoids starving or freezing to death in his early scenes, for example. It simply shows that he does and leaves it at that, often skipping over obstacles which seem like they would pose the greatest challenge in the process. Given how detailed and hyper-realistic most of the rest of the film is, this felt a bit off-kilter for me.
However, all these things are strictly "IMO," and ultimately rather minor. If you like thoughtful, gritty films which take their time, but also don't shy away from moments of shockingly brutal and gory violence, this movie is for you!
Final Verdict: 8 out of 10
Otherwise known as: "Leonardo DiCaprio and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."
Overall, I really liked this one. The casting was good, the scenery was beautiful, and the action was more than suitably intense to provide a decent adrenaline rush. The film does a good job of conveying just how Hellishly brutal life on the frontier must have been back in the day, and exactly what it took (for good or ill) to be the sort of man who could actually survive there.
It also avoids the usual overly politicized "Indian good, White Man bad" nonsense which tends to ruin these sorts of films. It's clear that both sides are capable of good and evil, and even misguidedly doing evil with the intention of doing good. Hell! It's clear that Indians and White men don't even necessarily exist as monolithic forces. They fight and factionalize amongst one another just as they do with the other side.
Simply speaking, the film deals in numerous shades of grey, rather than black or white. That is a definite strength.
My only major complaint would be that the film is somewhat overlong, self-indulgent, and lacking in focus. The plot drags on and meanders at several points, and I felt like its pacing could have benefited from some streamlining of those elements. I also felt at times like the film wasn't really sure what it wanted to be - ultra moody period piece, survival story, or revenge flick. It came off as being something of a "jack of all trades, but master of none" for that exact reason.
The "Oscar-baiting" was a little too blatant in some scenes as well. This was paired with some, additional, minor continuity errors here and there. Honest to God - I think I saw Leo fire a single shot musket pistol three or four times at one point without ever stopping to reload
, and some of his early "survival" scenes seemed a bit too cavalier on the subject. It doesn't really explain how he avoids starving or freezing to death in his early scenes, for example. It simply shows that he does and leaves it at that, often skipping over obstacles which seem like they would pose the greatest challenge in the process. Given how detailed and hyper-realistic most of the rest of the film is, this felt a bit off-kilter for me.
However, all these things are strictly "IMO," and ultimately rather minor. If you like thoughtful, gritty films which take their time, but also don't shy away from moments of shockingly brutal and gory violence, this movie is for you!
Final Verdict: 8 out of 10
