The Revenant

January 4, 2016

Jays Rating:
Actors: / /
Director:


Inspired by true events from the old west in the early 1800’s, a man is attacked by a bear, caught in a buffalo stampede, attacked by Indians, and much more in the dramatic adventure-thriller, The Revenant. The year is 1823 and tracker Hugh Glass (Leonardo Dicaprio) is leading a group of fur traders into the uncharted rugged American west. The group is attacked by native Indians and they barely escape when Glass is mauled by a bear and narrowly escapes with his life. The leader of the group, Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) offers money to anyone in the group willing to stay with the injured Glass and his half Pawnee son, Hawk until he can recuperate. John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) volunteers to stay for the money and a naive young man named Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) stays also. When the rest of the traders are far away from the camp, Fitzgerald kills Hawk and leaves Glass for dead. Glass begins his fight for survival against the freezing temperatures, starvation, falling off a cliff and going over a waterfall while traveling 200 miles to the nearest settlement where he begins his quest for revenge. (I hate when all of that happens to me) This movie has plenty of action but it’s not action packed. In fact, it’s kind of tedious at times with Glass walking or crawling while the camera is focused on the scenery. I heard comments that the landscape was beautiful and the audio had realistic sounds of water, birds, and other wildlife. (Oh yes, there was also a lot of grunting, moaning, and screaming by the men.) Unfortunately, I had to concentrate on the story which wasn’t necessarily topnotch. (Maybe that’s just me.) Actually it kind of resembled the ever popular Whack-a-Mole game that I used to play at the state fair because for 200 miles and 2 and a half hours, Indians were popping out from behind trees chasing Glass. (Yes, that’s how long this film lasts.) I think director Alejandro Gonzalez Inaritu tries too hard to be different, (I’m thinking of the film Birdman from last year.) and forgets what the audience really wants to see. (He also forgot what his staff needed because some of them left halfway through the project. Tom Hardy even had a shirt distributed at the end of filming that showed his hands around Alejandro Gonzalez Inaritu’s neck. Of course, the acting was fantastic and I wouldn’t be surprised if Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hardy were nominated for awards. This is a unique film and I’m giving it a B rating.

This movie has been given an R rating by the MPAA

Although I am blind, I can appreciate a good movie as well as sighted individuals. I rely more on a good story line than special effects.