The Revenant (2015) is still outstanding!

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Likely Spoilers!!!

The Revenant is a movie that I watched as a younger man and loved very much. Like many really good movies, I tend to not re-watch them very often so the magic stays mostly fresh. I think that perhaps soon it may be time to adjust that philosophy though. Life is too short for all that.

The Revenant is really just a beautiful movie and I'm glad it was made. As a young man, I feel like it was a valuable watch. While the film was full of tragedy and intense drama, I just feel like the entire journey was really profound. The film is very blunt and also incredibly deep and abstract in other ways.

Hugh Glass's story is rather straight forward but very unique. His life is slowly destroyed bit by bit due to a series of evil acts and a bit of bad luck. Throughout such massive loss and massive physical challenges Hugh keeps going. I mean he goes through it all, his very soul was being tested at the highest of levels. When his son is murdered while he's both tied down AND massively critically wounded is one of the hardest scenes I've had to watch. I think I'd rather watch the bear scene again. I'm sure Hugh would have rather dealt with the Bear again than to go through that horror. I REALLY REALLY did not like John S. Fitzgerald. All the things Hugh went through was honestly rather exhausting to watch. Hugh's elite survival skills are also a sight to behold.

'The Revenant' was based on a true story, with some added fictional story elements. The elements were still quite plausible though so, all in all it makes for a very captivating story.

'The Revenant' while being a very gritty, intense drama feels so deeply moving that it's really almost a breath of fresh air in a very strange way. The scenes of hearing deep steady breaths amongst this chaos and the theme of 'keep breathing' definitely helps drive that feeling home a bit.

The filmography, breathtaking scenery, and killer soundtrack also really help this film feel fresh. It's pretty interesting how powerful those aspects of a film can be. If those things are done well, it can really take a film over the top for me.

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The Revenant felt historically accurate in many ways and since the whole journey took place in America it definitely hit a little different. It also took place about two hundred years ago and so, as a fan of history, I find that to be an intriguing length of time.

On even more of a personal note, seeing Hugh Glass go so far to avenge his son was really powerful and captivating to watch in a way that's really hard to explain. I have zero memories of my own father and my family life was rather strange/rough. Obviously I could never relate to this story in a literal sense but considering my own father and being a father now, this story felt quite powerful at a pretty deep level.

What is also very cool is Hugh's immensely determined, but never seeming outright angry demeanor. Well, I can think of several moments in the film where he's surely quite ticked but I didn't see him really like hulk out like I would have expected. It was impressive and I wonder if this demeanor is something he learned while living with the Pawnee or perhaps why he got along with the Pawnee so well.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy were just at the top of their game, in their primes! Too good!

This movie is just so intriguing, action packed, cool, AND beautiful. I really feel like this is a pretty flawless film.

I'll give the Revenant a 9.6/10