The Revenant

The Revenant—2 hrs 36 mins/Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu/starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy/
Screenplay by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mark L. Smith from a Story by: Michael Punke/rated R

Bifocal Reviews written by Ageless1der Barbara Rich & The Other Guy

(BR): Finally, a movie I feel is totally deserving of a Best Picture Oscar! I feel that a movie, to get a best picture nomination (let alone award) should be a cut above the rest. Some of the other nominees were good, and some were downright mediocre. The Revenant checks off all categories as top notch. Leonardo DiCaprio gave a compelling performance and is also most worthy of the best actor Oscar. I loved everything about this film. One of the most engaging examples of human survival instinct, as Leo’s character, first survives a bear attack and then, while hanging onto life by a thread, under the most unsanitary conditions imaginable, was driven by blind rage to ignore his wounds and pursue his son’s killer. While Leo’s character has little dialogue his acting ability says more than any words could express. The other actors are also good, the scenery is spectacular, but this is definitely a DiCaprio showcase. I give this one five out of five binoculars.

(OG): I’m not sure what this award-year will bring, but I have to reiterate that without a movie like The Revenant, the Best Picture category would be pretty sparse for me. This film was interesting, and a joy to watch from beginning to end, from multiple directions. I was drawn into the film with the opening battle and subsequent fightscenes’ realism. The director, Iñárritu, slowed things down enough to show how, on a battlefield, chaos often reigns. Guns were discharging accidentally and combatants were shooting their own men. In hand-to-hand bouts, with heavy padded clothing, fighters often run out of energy before anyone really wins or loses. Then, there was the bear attack. That was brilliantly shot, acted and recreated. I could not see a single seam between live and computer generated action…assuming there were any. There was no wasted scenes. Everything was paced perfectly. This was the first time this year that a movie was this long and felt SHORTER than the actual running time for me. I give this one five binoculars.