Editor’s Observe: “The Revenant” is returning to pick out IMAX theaters for a tenth anniversary re-release on February 26 and March 1, 2026. Revisit our authentic assessment, revealed on December 4, 2015, beneath.
“The Revenant” marks the uncommon occasion of a brilliantly directed half-baked film. Director Alejandro G. Iñarritu’s extremely anticipated followup to “Birdman or (The Surprising Advantage of Ignorance)” trades that film’s ironic wit for a bloody revenge story that’s self-serious and absurd directly, pitting top-notch craft with muddled concepts.
An apparent bid for next-level action-survivalist materials, “The Revenant” so aggressively pursues that process that it’s unattainable to not get yanked into the wild, viscerally unnerving experience. The grisly account of nineteenth century explorer Hugh Glass — left for lifeless within the South Dakota wilderness after a near-fatal bear assault — it presents that dilemma in splendidly dynamic phrases: The ever-reliable Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki reteams with Iñarritu to craft a sequence of astoundingly intense sequences, aided largely by a ferocious flip by Leonardo DiCaprio because the deserted lead. It’s a bracing various to unimaginative studio blockbusters, however marred by the lingering sense that it’s by no means far more than that.
Glass supplies an interesting entry level for reexamining the American frontier, and never solely due to the bizarre situations of his closely mythologized plight. When the film begins, the explorer has been tasked with aiding a bunch of fur merchants by way of the trepidatious forest as winter units in; his teenage son, the offspring of an ill-fated marriage to a Native American girl, stays shut by. That unlikely combo supplies a compelling alternative for DiCaprio to pattern just a few strains of indigenous dialogue together with his character’s offspring, and suggests a singular complication of the standard cowboys-and-Indians trope by way of a revisionist lens.
However such a risk is short-lived: Quickly sufficient, Glass is left alone to fend for himself, at which level many of the Native American figures are diminished to little greater than scowling, vicious plot gadgets. For sure, “Meek’s Cutoff” this isn’t: Moderately than complicating the connection between American settlers and varied tribes, “The Revenant” presents the latter group as fearsome, one-note companions wielding vicious instruments and beastly tempers.
This primarily factors to a scarcity of sophistication within the storytelling as an entire, because the film does include makes an attempt to convey real bonds between the 2 teams. However these token acknowledgments really feel oddly compelled, notably as soon as Glass groups up with one other nomadic type whose world has been destroyed by the white man. The abrupt music cue when the pair notice they’ve one thing in frequent performs just like the worst form of dime retailer political correctness.
Nonetheless, “The Revenant” stays deeply involving as long as it grimly focuses on Glass’ largely wordless tribulations, as he crawls and limps his approach by way of the frosty panorama, surviving varied bodily ordeals within the course of. Almost each attainable permutation of wilderness issues get tossed his approach: That harrowing, protracted bear showdown; daunting cliffs; streaming arrows; cruel streams; you identify it.
Lubezki’s digital camera will get near the motion and by no means flinches, which underscores Iñarritu’s dedication to extreme mayhem at each flip. The bear assault stands out because the essence of the central filmmaking scheme: The monstrous creature destroys Glass’ physique in grotesque element not a few times, however 3 times — look out, right here it comes once more! — and it’s each extraordinary and exhausting to take a seat with Glass the entire approach by way of.
Buried beneath a mangy beard and frozen grimace, DiCaprio delivers probably the most bodily involving function of his profession, and if the two-and-half-hour narrative have been extra tightly contained it’s simple to think about him carrying it on his bloody shoulders alone. However the film struggles with opposing tendencies by concurrently reaching for heavy-handed lyricism and amping up ridiculous archetypes of anti-heroes and villains, like a Terrence Malick film stuffed into the mildew of “Apocalypto.”
Subtlety has by no means been Iñarritu’s sturdy go well with. Earlier efforts “Biutiful” and “Babel” tried to craft sullen drama out of crude state of affairs with infuriating simplicity. That shortcoming was mollified in “Birdman” because of the playful method during which overstatement was baked into the fabric. At occasions, “The Revenant” will get away with that, too. Iñarritu delivers a sequence of macabre encounters, however falls quick on surrounding them with a compelling story. At one level, Glass witnesses a fiery arrow plummeting downward, which mirrors a recurring picture from “Birdman.” Right here, nevertheless, the connotations of an overeager creator whose outsized intentions come crashing right down to earth appear unintentional.
Ultimately, “The Revenant” settles right into a fundamental routine. With Glass on the mend, the plot basically comes right down to his path towards vengeance, as he units his sights on the two-bit legal (Tom Hardy) chargeable for leaving him behind. Different males of various moral standing, corresponding to Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) because the group’s well-intentioned chief, endure from underwritten materials. The strengths of “The Revenant” lie with Glass, and any cutaway robotically lowers its enchantment.
That’s to not say it doesn’t generate loads of anticipation all through, however the story retains sagging till the unimaginative climactic showdown. Settle for it as one of many best-directed motion films of the 12 months (second solely to “Mad Max: Fury Street”) and Iñarritu has achieved an awesome service to an underserved style. But no quantity of ingenious camerawork and breakneck pacing can obscure a simplistic core. In the end, the ambition of “The Revenant” overshadows its large moments. If “Birdman” is in regards to the quest for creative transcendence, “The Revenant” illustrates the unending conundrum of chasing it.
Grade: B
“The Revenant” opens large on December 25.