Oscar bait so obvious, even I had to bite. Besides, the trailers were incredible.

What’s It About? A wounded scout, Glass, must survive the wilderness in order to track down and get revenge on Fitzgerald, the trapper who killed his son and tried to kill him.

STRAIGHT UP: Works better as art than as a story. 3/5

What I Liked

Gorgeous scenery – I’ll be damned if this isn’t the best-looking movie I’ve seen in years, or maybe ever. I don’t have the words to describe, in either emotional or technical terms. Would be worth seeing again solely for this reason.

Leonardo DiCaprio as Glass – DiCaprio is perhaps my favorite actor, a consummate professional who puts full effort into every role. In a movie that requires his character to suffer early and often, he sells the suffering like a champ.

Will Poulter as Bridger – I remember this guy from The Maze Runner. Good to see him moving up in the world. He’s also secretly the most interesting character in the film.

What I Disliked

Too long – Like The Hateful Eight, this movie is at least 60 minutes longer than it needs to be. These auteur directors’ self-indulgences must be stopped.

Doughy middle – The movie loses the urgency of Glass’ quest for revenge with a long, meandering middle section that doesn’t really go anywhere – to the point that a scene is added to actively remind the audience of the initial narrative thrust. In this genre, a misstep like that is fatal.

Misery porn – If that middle section does have a goal, it’s to make life as difficult as possible for Leo’s character, often to an extent that strains disbelief. A friend of mine likened it to a sequence from an old episode of The Simpsons – and I concede that he has a point.

Tom Hardy as Fitzgerald – Fitzgerald is the most over-blown, moustache-twirling villain I’ve seen in a film of this caliber in some time – and Hardy’s performance contributes to that.

The Ree Tribe – Why are these guys even here? Their motivation is laughably weak, and the scenes they’re in feel completely separated from the rest of the film.

The bear attack – There’s no anticipation for this scene. It happens for its own sake, and while it’s really intense at first… it keeps happening, and happening, well past the point where it’s lost its effectiveness. For all the publicity this scene got, it’s a real disappointment.

CLOSING THOUGHT: It’s astonishing to think that this movie is going to win Best Picture when there’s a better recent example in its own wheelhouse. Consider 2013’s Gravity, a lean (90 minutes), fast-paced thrill ride featuring rich themes, a superlative performance by Sandra Bullock, and a triumphant finale – and it’s got fantastic visuals, to boot! Gravity demonstrates mastery of the survival genre where The Revenant does not, and is a complete narrative in addition to being a work of art. I’m not suggesting that The Revenant isn’t worth seeing for its wealth of breathtaking shots, or that Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t deserve a Best Actor award for this. What I am saying is that it isn’t the best film of 2015 – just the best-marketed.