MovieChat Forums > The Revenant (2016) Discussion > I'm confused by the hate for this film.

I'm confused by the hate for this film.

posted 8 years ago by charleskwaters
132 replies | jump to latest

I thought it was beautiful and I've seen it 4 times. It keeps getting better. I've read that many complain that it's so bleak, but that's the point. And there are moments that aren't bleak, where desperate men are out only for themselves such as scene with the helpful Indian, the scene where the boy gives food to the Indian woman in the shattered village, etc.

I love this film.

There seems to be no middle ground on this one. You either love it, or hate it. Strange. Why is that I wonder?

Edit: Weeks after posting this question, I've come to the conclusion that IMDB forums are full of a few thoughtful people and a bunch of goofballs. There are a lot of really nasty and childish comments here. For those who actually thought about their answers - thank you. But I won't waste any more time here. I'll discuss movies with friends over a few beers.

[–] redskydown-1 8 years ago

It's the best movie I've seen on frontier life and death.

--Did I ever tell you I was struck by lightning 7 times?--

[–] deer1 8 years ago

It is indeed a great film (atleast 8/10 for me). The tone of this film very bleak and raw, but thats how it was supposed be. The film really nailed the whole time period and the frontier life. DiCaprio gave one heck of a performace. I find no fault in his acting. And the cinematography was also the highest class.

That being said I doubt this is one of those films that will end up in many people's best movies list since the subject matter is quite dark and the film is quite slow paced, so it requires viewer's attention, but for me the quality of this film is unquestionable. Revenant is a film I'd highly recommand.

I definitely want to rewatch it sometimes in the future.

[–] vappour 8 years ago

So right. Without a doubt, it's one of the best, if not the best and most engaging films on early frontier life I have seen. Except for a few minor discrepancies -- like over-powered and over-accurate flintlock weapons -- it was truly fine example of a director's unique vision. Raw? You bet. But anybody who can't relate to the life and events and environment so powerfully depicted perhaps should stick to Hawaii 5-0.

[–] gadalobete 8 years ago

It's not hated that much.

It was easily one of the best movies of 2015 and arguably of the decade

[–] JDJSmith 8 years ago

I was going to say the same. It seems most appreciate the cinematography and how difficult is was to shoot.

[–] khruzek 8 years ago

Didn't hate it. Didn't Love it. I stuck through it, but 2 1/2 hours of DiCaprio's grunting was annoying. Tom Hardy's performance was better to me. What I liked about the movie was the breath taking cinematography.

And DiCaprio is a good actor who should an Oscar a while ago, but not for this one

[–] basvandergraaff 8 years ago

Agree wholeheartedly. The grunting sure was realistic, but I get annoyed by it after a couple of minutes. Rest of the movie was good, cinematography was great and I didn't mind the CGI at all (what was that bear thinking, though?). And Hardy was best - I completely forgot it was him even though I'd seen his name on the movie poster beforehand...

[–] jeffjohnston-13327 8 years ago

This pretty much sums it up for me, too.

It's an amazing piece of cinematography that everyone should see, but it runs a bit long without much of a pay-off in the end. It's a good ending, but a bit anticlimactic.

Where this movie fails (for me) is that I have no desire to see it again. There are scores of great movies that I've watched over and over. It may be the action, the characters, the dialogue, or the story. The Revenant falls short across the board.

Let me repeat: It's an amazing piece of cinematography. The acting is superb! The action sequences (though few and far between) are incredibly realistic.

But it's a pretty basic story, and the movie takes far too long to tell it.

[–] Smurfsarebad 8 years ago

WW2 documentaries were awful to shoot too. Those middle east, middle-of-conflict shots are made by people. Those are bad conditions. I don't see them getting Oscars for that.

The Revenant was an Oscar bait, and that will remain. It will be forgotten in few years, we will never consider it as a classic movie. There is nothing spectacular about it, and there is nothing original about cinematography. Yea, it's close to perfection, but it would be stupid not to be, at that budget.

The whole "it was cold there" thing annoys me the most. It's simply a publicity stunt, that's overdone in most big productions. They create that myth that they worked harder than anyone else before, in order to gain sympathy. It's just cheap and silly. No director would put his actors in life-threatening situations, especially in these days.

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[–] ricpambon07 8 years ago

I absolutely agree. I quite happily watch dark films, violent films, long slow films and am quite happy that sometimes not all films perform the 'suspension of disbelief' as long as they have a point and some contrast and light .

All I could think of during this film was 'that is DiCaprio acting this out and making a lot of fuss about it.'
It reminded me of 'Angela's Ashes' in that it was unrelentingly grim all the way through and at the end I thought 'what a waste of my precious time'.

For a well made, long, brilliant beautifully photographed and acted film with a story, 'The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Bob Ford.' Is my stand-out' and terribly underrated.

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

"Its not hated that much"

Don't get out much, huh?

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Jerry-137 8 years ago

...a troll who is obsessed with writing crap about dicaprio and his movies.Please keep this in mind...

I agree and no offense intended...But...You are following him around and posting that message after every message he posts on the Forum. Doesn't that also make you a type of "troll"? Like a sub-order troll? ;) Wait a moment...Maybe that's a Deli-Troll.

I guess he just doesn't like DiCaprio's acting and/or his different accents. But DiCaprio has won accolades and awards for doing just that, acting and accents. One could say that maybe in one or two films he didn't pull it off so great but overall the consensus is that he is a great actor and how else can one otherwise explain his mass popularity?

That he has some detractors who believe otherwise is just part of a forum like this. The deciding factor if he is a true troll is whether he consistantly complains about a particular movie and/or actor in that movie. And in this case from his short posting history it appears he meets the definition of a troll.

*******************************************
My favorite: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

[–] stefansu 8 years ago

No. Smartass. That makes him a Troll-Hunter.

[–] Jerry-137 8 years ago

stefansu » 1 day ago (Sat May 7 2016 10:17:42)
IMDb member since May 2016

Hmm...And you're an expert on forums after one day on the IMDB forum and this has been your only post so far?

Forums are a place where one posts their opinion on something and in this case on a movie, The Revenant. When the troll name calling starts there are never winners and it only clogs up and ruins the discussion of what should be OPINIONS ON THE TOPIC not acting like a child by name calling.

As you can see I've been around a while and while I'm no expert on all forum aspects I do know something about forum decorum. Name calling because of someone's opinion has no validity and only shows ignorance.

If you want to stay around on IMDB try posting valid opinions on the subject at hand instead of name calling.

***************************************************
My favorite: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

[–] stefansu 8 years ago

It was a joke... o.O sorry if you thought my post was so important to write such a comment. My bad! Relax buddy...

[–] Jerry-137 8 years ago

WoW! It took you 5 months to find my message and reply. You may need some help of a kind I can't help you with.

I'm gonna go relax now and maybe you should too.

BTW I still love this film but I do see why some wouldn't like it.

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My favorite: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

[–] Fashionably_Straight 8 years ago

Great little gem of a film.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] gadalobete 8 years ago


Consider A poster has already made it clear that you're a troll,I won't answer your question.Have fun insulting people anonymously on the internet because I'm sure you don't have the guts to do it in real life

[–] patrick_bateman_90029 8 years ago

Here's my thing about it:

I don't hate the movie, contrary to the belief most people probably have that I think this movie was a sin against cinema. I have respect for what it was going for and can pinpoint things about the film that did impress me, but I feel more strongly about the aspects of the film that rubbed me the wrong way. I would have rather Iñárritu just told the story of Hugh Glass straightforward and without the embellishments in some attempt to make some searing and profound existential commentary about a man whose idea of revenge fizzles out when the idea of him tracking Fitzgerald down to Texas and forgiving him is a far more potent idea.

And again, all the Malick-isms are a huge detractor for me. Iñárritu is better than that. His work on "Birdman" and "21 Grams" shows what powerful human stories are capable of with a simple approach.

[–] Dblshotz 8 years ago

All films have trolls.

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

And it seems the only people who liked this dreck ARE trolls.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Can_a_bitch_get_a_donut 8 years ago

Except Troll 2. No trolls in Troll 2.

I'm Kevin Roberts and I'm the coolest bitch in town!

[–] Moviefreakforever 8 years ago

People hate on this?? It's one of my favorite films out now. My fave Leonardo role in a long time. Seriously adore this film!

[–] brainbiter 8 years ago

An even bigger question is why people these days cannot distinguish between 'hate' and criticism. Personally I object to the familiar strain of undisguised anti-white propaganda and a promotional for equalitarian ideologies that have no relevance to the natural world. Others will have their own reasons.

[–] JdgMoonbox 8 years ago

Personally I object to the familiar strain of undisguised anti-white propaganda

WHAT anti-white propaganda? Unless you're referring to people like brainbiter making whites look like pathetic losers, I have no idea what you're talking about.

Personally I object to the familiar strain of undisguised anti-white propaganda

What's so natural or worldly about that hallucination where brainbiter pretends he's superior?

This picture contains no physical depiction of the Godhead.

[–] dgross-3 8 years ago

>>
these days cannot distinguish between 'hate' and criticism.
<<
It seems to me more like, if you even criticize the film, they throw the "hate" word at you as a punishment.
From what I am reading about all the "Goofs", whoever was in charge of continuity and historical medium-points (not "fine" points. they are bigger. they are medium-sized points) oughta be fed to a bear.

[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

Except for the fact where the only people defending this pile of *beep* are pathetic losers like you who can't answer criticism or defend this shlock, and thus have to whine and cry at those with decent tastes and working brains, as you've just done.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] liutenantsalt 8 years ago

It's a terrible movie with no plot or anything to say other than subjecting the audience to awful CGI and some of the worst acting ever caught on film.

Not difficult.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] cableaddict 8 years ago

You, sir, are a pathetic child.