The very first thing you will be in awe of with this film is the cinematography. Filmed using only natural light, Oscar winning Director of Photography Emmanuel Lubezki captures some amazing scenery whilst also immersing the audience into the action.
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu was responsible for the last years Birdman, which had amazing success critically. That film I was a little disappointed with. It was good, I suppose, but the acclaim it was receiving set me up to be unamazed in the end. With that in mind, I was going into this a little reserved. The trailer looked great though, and the plot line seemed more accessible, so I was really hoping not have a repeat experience like Birdman.
Well, what an excellent film this turned out to be. From the opening scenes, I could feel a great sense of satisfaction with what I was seeing. The action is brutal and very upfront and personal. The story is simple, but the performances really pull you in. DiCaprio and Hardy are no slouches in the acting arena, and both give you their absolute best.
The film has been quite an arduous production for the cast and crew, and you can see the actors have put everything they've got into bring something quite authentic to the screen. There is a particular scene with DiCaprio and a grizzly bear that is just a standout for me. How this was so convincingly pulled off on screen I don't know, but it will leave your jaw dropped. That is one part of an amazing journey you really can feel. Such is the attention to detail and the raw nature of what you're watching.
As far as nitpicks go, I would say the film borders on being overly lengthy, and perhaps some of the dream sequences were unncessary or didn't feel like they fit with the rest of the film. Also, the first half really knocks it out of the park, and that feeling drops a bit in the last hour or so.
This was my first new release film for 2016, and wow, what a start to the year. I love starting out a fresh year with a film that leaves an impression like this.
4.5/5
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