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Finally, A Masculine Hollywood Movie That Won’t Make You Cringe

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I’ve been disappointed so many times by mainstream Hollywood movies that in recent years I’ve come to expect very little. And this is what makes my viewing of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s brilliant The Revenant such an unexpected joy: the awareness that great films can still be made in America, if only the right perspective is taken.

There is a story—possibly apocryphal—that British general James Wolfe, after having heard Thomas Grey’s Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard, told his officers, “Gentlemen, I would rather have written that poem than take Quebec tomorrow.” Now I know what he felt like. I so wish I could have been involved in the composition of this cinematic masterpiece.

And make no mistake. The Revenant is a truly great film, a creation of surpassing and harrowing beauty. This is the film that every man should see, right now.

There is no “you-go girlism” here. No “girl-power” nonsense. No in-your-face political correctness. No subtle social engineering agenda lurking in the background. No corporate product endorsements.

rev1

There are only the stark, unvarnished themes of man’s eternal struggles: courage, adversity, suffering, redemption, and revenge, related with engaging honesty and simplicity. The Revenant achieves philosophic grandeur without one single word of preaching.

It just does it by telling its story. And all of these themes are played out against the vast panorama of Nature’s terrifying vastness, which makes all our endeavors seem so pitiful by comparison.

Background

The film is based on a 2002 novel by Michael Punke, who apparently based his work on the actual experiences of a frontiersman named Hugh Glass. The plot is a simple one, as it should be. The year is 1823, and an expedition of fur-trappers the Western territories is getting ready to transport its haul of pelts (very valuable in those days) back to civilization.

But then disaster strikes. The camp is attacked by a war party of Ree Indians (in what surely must be the most graphic scene of frontier warfare ever filmed), and most of the men are killed. A small party is left to try to make its way back to civilization. We thus have that eternal, great theme, which goes all the way back to Xenophon’s Anabasis: the fight through hostile territory to return home.

But this is a human drama as well.

The surviving band of trappers is forced to rely on their experienced tracker Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) to lead them back. Glass is a mysterious, taciturn man. He obviously has lived among the Indians and knows their ways; he speaks their languages, had an Indian wife, and has a half-Pawnee son named Hawk (Forrest Goodluck).

We are never told the whole story of Glass’s life, but he is haunted by recurring flashbacks of the apparent slaying of his wife during one of the many frontier Indian wars of the era.

His wife’s voice speaks to him in poetic riddles, a wonderful technique that recalls the profound and brooding voice-overs of Terence Malick’s 1998 masterpiece The Thin Red Line. Maybe this is not just a coincidence, since The Revenant’s cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, has worked on Terence Malick’s most recent films.

Within the party itself, there is tension and conflict. Our interest is immediately focused on the other main protagonist of the film, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Hardy plays this character with such subtlety and precision that he nearly steals the movie.

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The great quest, played out against a stark landscape

Fitzgerald is one of those personality types we find in nearly every large collection of adventurers or soldiers. He is not lacking in physical courage, but nevertheless is entirely without a moral compass. He cares about his own money and his own survival, and not very much about anything else.

And when the chips are down, his egoism dominates his every action. Perhaps his background has something to do with it: we learn that he was once attacked by Indians and scalped. If so, his trauma has turned him into a self-seeking monster, able to lie, cheat, and kill without hesitation.

Hardy has been everywhere in film in recent years, yet this role must rank among his best. His accent and demeanor are so impeccable that we barely recognize him. Hardy can do accents: those who doubt this should hear his Welsh accent in his 2014 film Locke.

Soon after the attack by the Ree tribe, Glass is mauled by a bear in one of the most incredible and unique fight scenes every put on film. I have no idea how this scene was put together, but it is entirely convincing, to the extent that I could nearly feel the grizzly’s teeth scraping against my skull.

Glass survives the attack, but just barely. The remaining members of the party then are forced to decide whether to carry him or leave him to his fate. Carrying him soon proves impossible. So the plan is to have a few men stay behind, for a promised reward, and try to nurse him back to health. Fitzgerald is among those chosen, along with Glass’s son and another hapless young hunter.

As might be expected, Fitzgerald soon turns to treachery. He murders Hawk and tricks the other hunter into abandoning Glass to his fate. And thus the stage is set for the most epic story of survival and suffering ever put on film.

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Abandoned and left for dead

We are told that The Revenant took nine months of grueling location shooting to piece together. The cast and crew flew to remote locales in Argentina, Canada, and the United States, and all filming was done in natural light. We are thus immersed completely in the blood-freezing beauty and power of Nature, with no filters or barriers between us and the great Reality.

There is no sentimentality here. The Indians are neither glamorized or idealized (as in Dances With Wolves). They are presented exactly as what they were: a people like any other, with the capacity to inflict extreme cruelties as well as the most transcendent kindnesses.

None of the characters are one-dimensional, either. They all act with the logic of their own internal voices; and even Fitzgerald, after a time, seems to elicit a small measure of sympathy. As for Glass, his quest for vengeance becomes all-consuming, and by the end of the film he has been transformed into almost an agent of Fate.

Like any great film, The Revenant is not perfect. Its running time may be too long for some, and some of the characters overlook obvious holes in Fitzgerald’s lies that are too stark to ignore. But these points are very minor, and do not diminish to impact of the whole.

Immerse yourself in the immensity of Creation, and allow Nature’s frozen gray and white colors to grip you by the throat. Feel the poetry of the limitless scenery, and the mystical mantras that appear in the voiceovers.

The final scene is just right. For we are left with an agent of Fate that has accomplished its purpose, but must now dare to search for a new reason for being.

Read More: How To Create Your Own List Of Precepts

192 thoughts on “Finally, A Masculine Hollywood Movie That Won’t Make You Cringe”

  1. I saw it this past weekend. I need to watch it again to really give a verdict on it(I had to watch The Departed and The Raid 2 several times to really appreciate how amazing they were). It felt a bit boring to me to be honest. Ironically, though this is a film geared towards men, my mom loved it MUCH more than I did.
    I actually felt that Hardy had the best performance in the film. Even at the end when Fitzgerald screams, his accent remains on point.

  2. Saw the movie…just kept thinking how tough these men were back then….the cold, the hunger, the thirst, the filth, the disease, the violence…now we got pajama boy.
    …and to throw women out there???…LOL….fuck off…good luck!!
    Different breed of human.

    2. No kidding. My grandmother washed clothes by hand for 12 children. These whiny fuckers barely know how to wipe their own asses.

      2. Really. My father quit school to help his family during the 1930s depression (he made up for his lack of education later in “spare time” from work), he fought across the Pacific and then in Korea, came back and worked till too sick to. He never complained and never talked about it except for a few comments while suffering from heart and kidney disease.
        Incidentally, my mother had kids and worked despite having been damaged by polio at age 8.
        I won’t go into how tough their parents were…
        What has happened since the 1950s?

    3. Today we have 20 yo men and women that cant change a tire or even jumpstart a car.. much less identify anything under the hood.. This generation of “google search” would never make it in the wild.. Have you noticed the amount of rescues of hikers, swimmers, climbers, campers, etc etc lately?? Some of these people have NO business being out there..

      1. Though, admittedly, it’s not their fault. When you are raised by a single mother – all you get out of it is mental problems and zero practical skills.

      2. Knowing what’s under the hood of a car hardly makes you masculine man now, does it? I’ve never had an interest in cars. The one and only time I was behind the wheel i missed a crowd of children by inches. It gave me too much of a scare. Plus I like the bus; head on the window, looking at the world outside (usually countryside).

        1. Its not that knowing about cars makes you a “man” its just that the more you know.. the better off a person is.. male or female. If youre driving a car.. you should know how to jumpstart it( which means you need to know what a battery looks like or its location) or change a tire because that just makes sense!! You dont have to be “into” cars to accomplish that…
          I can sew and cook(weld, run a lathe and mill too).. never thought that made me feminine.. it makes me very handy to have around!

        2. Only those who are “real world incompetent” say things like that. It has nothing to do with an interest in cars, or masculinity.
          It’s about being fucking knowledgeable about the technology and equipment you use everyday!

        3. It’s about ingenuity and improvisation, most guys have it, few women do or will even try. They would just stand there waving at traffic and cursing Fate, whereas Man sees himself as an Agent of Fate, and a Great Man sees himself as a reflection of God’s will. Your perspective seems passive. Yes, yes, yes, there are always a few, a tiny few, women out there with these traits, but this has always been so. The vast majority let themselves be acted upon by Fate.

    4. Women became feral because men stopped being men.
      Someone has said that the feminist movement was a shit test, which western men failed terribly.
      Since nature abhors a vacuum, someone must occupy the position left by men.

  3. This is the first movie I’m psyched to see in a while. All of my army buddies have been recommending this as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the sleeper hit of the season.

  4. Nice review. Movie reminded me of Apocalypto. More red pillers in Hollywood please. No more femimovies.

    1. mel needs a chance to direct more man, absolute fucking travesty he got black listed while just blowing off steam at his bitch of a gold digging ex wife.

    2. We should start a thread with film including alpha/red pill character.
      my 2 cents :
      the dead lands
      gran torino
      john wick
      true detective s1
      fight club

  5. I’ve been hoping this would be worthwhile, sounds like it is, so I’ll give it a look.
    Five decent movies I’ve watched recently:
    The Man from Nowhere – Korean flick.
    Open Range – Western.
    The Hard Way – Old movie (1943).
    Rain in the Mountains – Indie film.
    The City of Violence – Korean flick.

      1. I haven’t seen any Korean films but Korean guys strike me as not that masculine. Korean women are slightly less slutty and thinner versions of their American cousins, although they are even more materialistic in my experience. So how does one explain these films?

        1. Good point. I live in a Chinese/Indian/Korean neighborhood. Korean women (in my experience) are lower than dirt. Easily the most materialistic/unapproachable women I’ve ever come across.

        4. basically i think the issue with korea is that they were everyone’s bitch for like 200 years. but i am telling you their cinema is where their strength lies.
          Watch the original old boy, watch i saw the devil, watch man from nowhere and you will understand that while they may not exactly be the shining examples of masculinity now, there is that inner rage there, and its perfectly, PERFECTLY expressed in some of their cinema.

        9. Old boy? Now that’s a great movie. I’m very fond of Asian cinema (not the martial arts rubbish.) Mongol is highly recommended, as is Audition (Japanese film.) I got a load of African films a few weeks back. I heard there cinema was picking up. What a waste of money. I’m sticking to illegal downloading.

      2. Really enjoyed it, yes.
        It is in line with some of the best Asian-market dramas available in my opinion (A Better Tomorrow, Dead or Alive, Infernal Affairs, Flashpoint, Sonatine, heck even Beat Takeshi’s one American film to my knowledge: “Brother”). Some great stuff.

        2. Tae Guk GI from 2004, right?
          WellGo USA released it here, I think. Great movie.
          You might like another of their releases,
          “My Way” (2012?) as well, set in Japan-occupied Korea, been compared to Private Ryan.
          Or even “Three Seasons” (1999) about Vietnam after the war.

        4. Sure.
          The Suspect – Korean
          Lost in the Barrens – Coming of age TVfilm
          New Police Story – Jackie Chan
          Kid Galahad – Elvis Presley
          How to Murder Your Wife – old movie (1965)
          Lonely are the Brave – Kirk Douglas
          Three Outlaw Samurai – Japan, 1964
          Full Contact – Chow Yun Fat
          Firestorm – Andy Lau
          Swords of Vengeance – Sonny Chiba
          Thor the Conquerer – 1983
          Rambo IV
          A Single Shot – 2014
          Killers – Kazuki Kitamura
          Wild City – directed by Ringo Lam
          Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl – (1998)
          Enjoy.

      3. choi min sik is a Boss actor.
        everyone needs, NEEEDS to see old boy (the original not the faggy spike lee american remake) and ‘i saw the devil’.
        South Korea may be not be exactly the best shining example of masculinity, but man some of their cinema is fucking ON POINT.
        Watch the man from nowhere, chaser, bitterweet life.
        They do male anger, vengeance, crime, hate, just about every kind of male emotion absolutely pitch perfectly well.
        They are to the 21st century what Japanese cinema was to the 80s and 90s.

      1. I just can’t bring myself to watch anything having to do with Tarantino anymore (almost caused me to miss Sukiyaki Western Django and The Spirit though). This was just the proverbial straw for me:

        1. I don’t care much about his politics.
          I know he purposefully plays races and genders against each other in his films. but I like that his movies aren’t cookie cutter in terms of directing.

  6. I watched the film in the theater, and though it is a good survival tale, it does have some liberal themes.
    Examples:
    Native Americans are innocent, good and in touch with nature and god, white men are bad, nasty, unattractive and cruel
    Women are angels and only taken advantage of.
    Nature, Intuition and Feelings are more important than Contracts, Reason and Rationality.
    Evil men dislike breeding with another race/tribe. Good men don’t judge this.

    1. Not even true. It depicted Natives realistically: some were brutal savages (Sioux) and some were friendly (Pawnee). There was in-fighting between the tribes. It showed the good, the bad and the will to survive in every group of people.
      If you look hard enough for what you want to see, you’ll see it.

      1. I agree with you, Marcus. There was none of the sentimentalizing of the Indians that we’ve seen in other movies. They were portrayed realistically, honorably, and nobly.

        1. I’ve met real natives, they lie brag, one tribal chief wanted me to ask one of the girls if they would fuck him for $40. Oh and he would only be able to pay until tomorrow.

  7. Another Masculine Movie that didn’t fare so well in theaters but was Good non the less, was, In the Heart of the Sea, another tale of Survival that had to do with whaling. Not a Whole lot of Room for BS with what those Men went through.

  9. mild spoiler:
    Great film. Watched it the day after the Hateful Eight which I thought would be the better of the two – which it most certainly was not. The best moments are probably animal related, which reflects how wild the film is – no film set in the present could convey the sense of an inhospitable landscape that takes far more in life and health than it gives by way of sustenance. Not quite sure whether Leo was the right man for the role, not that there’s anything wrong with his performance, but the main star is the american wilderness: so relentlessly and bitterly cold it makes you want to make a nice cup of cocoa and snuggle up in some warm horse guts

    2. “Yosemite Sam with PTSD”…lol!
      I hear you, but I’d have to disagree with you on this. There are many such “larger than life” characters in tough environments. You see them in oil rigs, as hunters, military types, prospectors, and other types.

    3. i watched an interview he had. Reading between the lines the director could not communicate with them properly [language issues] his vision of how he wanted their characters to be, so they started making up shit. Hardy had just got off from making legend (film about the infamous kray twins, watch it please) and just did not prep at all accent wise for revenant.
      In the end when the director showed them some of the daily footage he captured they began to understand his process, but its very unforgiving as most actors are treasured like silver darlings and this guy inarritu was like fuck you i am making a bleak as hell real as shit masterpiece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi3RicPREZQ

    1. I think I just heard Quintus say ‘go watch the Danish Girl’ as well. And bring tissues

        1. that Alicia Vikander probably just gets in the way. Why couldn’t they have cast someone genuinely stunning like Caitlyn Jenner?

    2. While this is an amazing movie and the only one I’ve paid to see in years, I did detect some vestige of anti-white in it.
      For example you see the cruelty and deceit of the white men but the natives you are left thinking their cause wholly noble, their virtue much more pure than the drunkard whites.
      Where is the barbaric depictions of the natives? The cannibalism, mutilations, immolations, infanticide etc that they routinely engaged in?
      If I was some naive fucktard I might’ve left that movie bemoaning the evils of the white man while extolling the virtue and tragedy of the natives.
      One would almost see their way of life as “better” more humane.

    3. I just watched The Revenant because of Quintus’s review. Go watch it. Highly recommended.

    4. I watched it, and it’s DAMN good! It was a breath of fresh air compared to most modern movies, and its basis in the North American wilderness made it even more interesting (I’ve wanted to be a mountain man).

  12. This movie is essentially a remake of “Man in the Wilderness” with Richard Harris on the lead role and John Huston co-staring and directing. Hard to see how it can be beat but I am looking forward to “The Revenant”.

  13. i had the option of either H8full 8 or the revenant i chose H8full 8 i wanna see this one though

  15. from what i’ve seen so far, its a brilliant movie, and might indeed net leo dicaprio his first oscar.
    that’s right, he had to go so far as getting raped by a BEAR to get his first oscar.
    that’s why i fucking hate hollywood.

    1. Fuck the Oscars. Didn’t they give Sean Penn the Oscar for playing a gay guy and had him chastise all Americans in his acceptance speech?

      1. Yeah it’s notoriously shitty, but it’s also their highest accolade. It’s like saying fuck the Nobel peace prize cos Obama got one for doing fuck all.
        No its still a pretty good prize to get, just norwegian parliament are susceptible to group think popularity/ influence more than the swedes who do academic vetting for the other prizes.
        Leo getting an Oscar validates his work (not a hypothetical like with obama) , even though the immense amount of box office receipts he gets for his movies should really validate his work more.

  17. Sounds like a good movie, unfortunately I will have to wait until it shows up on Netflix or another streaming service I subscribe to. While the movie may be PC free DiCaprio is Mr. PC to me and I will not pay money to see him.

  18. It’s good. Not a masterpiece, but, hey. And mildly fawning to the Indians. The guy who plays the Lt. or whatever was amazing.

  20. I cannot wait to see this. I grew up watching Jeremiah Johnson with my dad and is still on of my favorite movies. As an avid outdoorsmen the reality of this is still relevant. Anyone can walk a few miles into the wilderness, when you have hiked or ATV out into true desolation you really feel how small you really are. It really sounds as if they captured this. Makes me want to go hunting again but the season is over for now!

    1. If you leave here going in any direction you’ll be a starving pilgrim inside of a week!
      I love that movie.

  21. I also highly recommend In The Heart Of The Sea (film about a 19th century whaling ship) as an excellent, inspiring, poz-free film for men.

    1. That one really piqued my interest as well. Glad to hear that it’s good enough to see from a RP perspective.

  22. Glad Tom Hardy is back in badass mode after being put on the backburner in Mad Max. Saw him as the Marine in Warrior and was pretty good.
    As for DiCaprio, I started gaining respect for him after Blood Diamonds.

    1. Watch Hardy in Bronson. Excellent!
      I have always liked DiCaprio. You always feel there is something under the surface

  23. Bbbut wheres the strong female character?
    How dare he portray the savage, Stone Age Troglodytes as savage, Stone Age Troglodytes. They used every part of the buffalo!

    1. “Bbbut wheres the strong female character?”
      The bear that attacked Glass was both strong and a female to boot.
      Shhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttt

  25. It would be immensely helpful for Return of Kings to have a movie review system in place, if there isn’t one already. I hate sitting down to a movie that I think will be really good, only to have it turn out to be a steaming pile of liberal/feminist shit.

    3. Maybe roosh could make a “moviewreviewsformen.com” site ? Or “Returnofmovies.com”.

    4. great idea
      pop culture analysis pisses off mainstream equalists like no tomorrow

  27. I’m thinking hard and I can’t remember Leonardo DiCaprio playing in a PC or magina movie… Maybe I’m wrong, but still hats off to him.

    1. After his “girly teen idol” phase, he apparently went to real acting school, got in shape, hardened up and turned out to be a decent actor. His movies are always interesting, at least to me.

  29. The Revenant is definitely on my list. Other movies I’ve watched recently which are not plagued with subtle doses of cultural reprogramming include:
    John Wick
    The Big Short
    Jack Reacher
    RoK should feature a good movie now and again since most media is tainted.

    1. You’re wrong about John wick, I distinctly recall a female assassin that almost killed John with her bullshit contortionist fighting style

      1. That’s true, I had blocked that out. If you forget about that scene, pretty solid movie. It’s hard enough to get a movie made. Now imagine the PC police scrutinizing it at every level of production. Any Hollywood movie that only has one bullshit, illogical girl power character is a win.

      2. I hear that, but John had also been “beaten up” and if it wasn’t for the other assassin alerting him of her sneaking into his room, she would have killed him. In the end, half alive, he kicks the shit out of her and subdues her. It’s a very enjoyable movie.

  30. Haven’t seen it yet,quit reading the article when I realized you were GIVING IT ALL AWAY!
    I found “Fury” to be a good film without all the super girl crap. Whoever wrote it was not a tactician but, a good movie none the less.

  31. pretty good up until the bear attack but after that its a slog from one scene to the next. Its award baiting caca though make no mistake.

  32. NO SPOILER REVIEW!
    I saw this movie opening night. First, from an acting stand point, Leonardo “pretty boy” DiCaprio was a pussy in that movie. He could never play a “tough guy”, it is physically impossible for him. Tom Hardy, on the other hand, made that movie and should receive an Oscar for supporting actor. The author of this article is correct by stating he “stole the show”. His acting was very good and evokes the spirit of some of the earlier bad ass actors.
    Visually stunning, great camera angles, could be a bit “artsy” at times. Movie paced very good with the viewer being unaware of the length (which was long). Some parts involving injury and recovery were too outrageous to believe, too over the top, especially for girly boy DiCaprio who made it more unbelievable due to his innate effeminate nature.
    However, the movie has great insight on courage and what it takes to make a man. The difference between a boy and a man.
    The author is incorrect, though subtle, the Native Americans are glamorized and the idea of the “noble savage” is apparent. Subtle Cultural Marxism and the support for diversity is apparent. If you search the political activities and familiar with the director’s political inclinations, this would make sense.
    The ending was very anti-climatic and disappointing.
    However, the movie was one hundred times better than the “Hateful 8”.
    I think the author exaggerates and hypes the movie a bit. I say definitely see it in theaters though, but by no means is it a classic nor Oscar worthy (except for Hardy). Perhaps because the author has been so deprived of great film for so long, he glamorizes, it is understandable.
    Solid 6/10 stars for the movie.

      1. I think you misunderstood. The acting by Tom Hardy was amazing, Pretty boy DiCaprio was shit. I am not speaking of the characters themselves, but the acting ability. I think Tom Hardy would have played DiCaprio’s character far better.

        2. Tom Hardy did do an amazing job as a sociopath. Di caprio is not a pretty boy anymore. But he delivered as a man of character.. I am going to delete my I initial comment fit the benefit of those who haven’t seen the film

        3. I think DiCaprio physically cannot act as a tough guy. He is too effeminate and small, even now. I almost laughed at some points because he was trying so hard to be tough, but failed so much.
          Look to Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Sean Connery, Jack Nicholoson, etc. These are men… Look at DiCaprio, he is like a frightened little boy-child in comparison.

        5. Well Jon we disagree that Leo is a wimp. I have to get up a 3:45 am so it’s sleepy time. Will get back to you

        7. Leo has evolved since his Titanic/ Basketball Diaries days.
          He can’t be type cast( unlike the actors you mentioned with the exception of the versatile Newman,,)
          His latest role was a combination of inner strength, subtle nuance and intergrity. Quiet, humble but tenacious masculinity is what I drew from his character
          Caprio did it with perfection
          ..
          ..Think Atticus Finch infused with “Papa” from “The Road” That’s a man

  33. About halfway through reading this article, I realized, “hang on… This is describing the whole movie from start to finish?!?” LOL!
    That’s when I stopped reading! I got your point though- the movie sounds fantastic and I will definitely see it asap!

  34. Anyone would recommend some good Westerns to watch? I think I’ve watched all the worthy ones, but maybe a few slipped through.

    1. No, but if you want to see a real “man’s man” movie … try the Israeli movie “Lebanon”, one of the most profound movies ever made. Not that it matters that much, but it won the highest award at Cannes back in 2009 or 10, and the award is only given every two or three years. Also, the recently released Sicario is definitely one of the best of the year.

    2. Unforgiven
      Chism
      The Man With No Name three film series by Eastwood (A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly).
      You’ve probably seen those already though.

    3. Seraphim Falls with Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson. It’s very similar to (but in my opinion better than), The Revenant.

    4. Pale Rider
      High Plains Drifter
      A Fistful of Dynamite (James Coburn as an Irish Rebel on a motorbike in Mexico!)
      Shane
      Paint your Wagon (for Lee Marvin’s wonderful singing)
      Paris Texas (not really a western, but great)
      Duel (again not really a western, but set around the four States area)

      1. High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider are not only two of the best westerns, but also two of the best ghost stories

  35. Thanks for the tip. After having wasted good money on Star Wars and other movies I’m too embarrassed to admit to seeing, I’m glad to hear that there is something that doesn’t make you feel like you’ve been had.

  38. Watched Kelly’s Heros and heart break ridge recently any film starring Clint Eastwood is pure alpha at its finest

    1. You can’t go wrong with a Clint movie, except for that Bridges bullshit one.

  40. Great review, Quintus. I’ll check out the movie later today.
    I remember having the same feeling of awe and wonder when I watched The Grey some years ago. How men are able to survive in the harshest of climates and how we’ve arrived at our comfortable state of affairs blows my mind.

  42. I was going to pass on this one as DiCap is such a fucking poser but after reading this review, I’m going to catch it.

  43. There was a bit of PC there, when the Indian chief lambasts one of the traders for stealing their land, etc. While I liked it, I found it hard to hear the dialog a lot of the time; the soundtrack could have been better (unless it’s just me), and I found the dialog a bit anachronistic at least.

    1. That’s not entirely without historical precedent though. Geronimo and his band were pretty adamant about this, as were many American Indians at the time and forward. Not the camp follower kind, but the “we’re going to raid you, kill you and battle you” kind, such as would raid a bunch of trappers.

      1. In the larger context of today, though, it stands out — another attempt to make us feel guilty.

  44. Great review, pal, but I disagree with you on the larger point that there haven’t been many great Hollywood movies lately. While Hollywood is the sleazy propaganda arm of the rotten globalist edifice, occasionally a rare gem is made. Recently, Sicario would rank among the top, with the perfect ombination of a superb script, fantastic acting, and spectacular directing … overall a visceral heart-thumping experience but with depth. “Oblivion” with Tom Cruise is another excellent one, though sadly many have missed or not understood the profound esoteric message in the movie, and thus dismiss the film readily. When one appreciates the “hidden dimensions” of Oblivion, it’s is profound work of art.

  45. There are maaaaany survival stories to choose from. Robinson Crusoe would be the most famous although fictional. I don’t think this was chosen to push any other agenda than the miscegenation one. In the latest adoptions of Crusoe stories, Friday is a genius savage that speaks 9 languages and helps out Crusoe, and Crusoe gets beaten up and captured by a female pirate…..and then later he meets a female doctor pretending to be a man for “reasons”.

    1. Seriously? When you say “latest adaptions” what do you mean? A movie? Television show? Comic?

      1. Well, considering that this post is about movies etc, yes, it’s movies/television, the one I was especially thinking of is the Crusoe series from 2008. And I don’t read comics, so no idea what’s happening there.

  47. This was already on my short list of “to see” movies this year. Sounds like something we’ll have to partake of this coming Sunday.

    2. Not to mention that originally they intended some gook named Park Chanwook to direct it and Samuel L Jackson to play as Hugh Glass.
      Mexican and whitey stole from gook and brotha……Shhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttt

  51. For comparison you might want to check out “Man in the Wilderness” With Richard Harris and John Huston which also tells the same story of Hugh Glass’s survival. although with a heavy dose of artistic license.

  52. this shit will offend some liberal white fag, because they think it offends natives lmao

    1. The Grey is fantastic. I loved nonstop too. Pure action film. Liam Neeson had been playing the tortured soul role since his wife died. In nonstop he’s a tortured soul on a plane…epic!

  54. This will be the first time I’ve stepped in a theater in over 10 years. Last time was LOTR “The Return of the King”. I’m glad there’s finally a movie out worth my hard earned cash and that might actually make you leave with jacked up T levels.
    I fully expect another decade to go by before I go again, if ever.

  56. Just waiting for the 2025 remake.. Where the main cast are replaced by women who don’t have to struggle for anything, and the Indian’s tomahawks are replaced with plastic lightsabres.

  57. I made the mistake of reading the book first and was VERY disappointed in the movie. Why they had to add the whole bullshit about the son and the wife was beyond me.
    Hell, his real love was for his rifle!
    It shouldve just been about the man trying to get revenge on the two men who wronged him, and getting his stuff back in the process.

  61. What ?????? No woman to get him out of a tight spot ??? No woman to woop the ass of the grizzly bear ???? That’s not Hollywood … That was made by MCP fascist Nazi patriarchy ??

  63. it’s interesting to note how many others have too gone through a process where they cannot stand social justice themes any longer and all this subtle, malignant programming. Zero tolerance for these little shits
    Great movie.

  64. An interesting review to be sure. Well described and rated. Now, if the movie didn’t star that sniveling, effete, effeminate Leonardo DiCaprio…

  65. I came out of the movie thinking…and women want equal pay. It wasnt up till abut the 50’s that women bought into working and are realizing they’re more unhappy even though they can afford tons of clothes that will be out of style next season. They really have women coming and going. Anyway I was thinking that MEN for thousands of years risked life and limb for the betterment of the tribe.Now that the animals are culled and the trees chopped down for the roads that the shopping mall is on women want equal pay as men. Lets see them fight the bears or even figure out how to get a fire going even in a fireplace nevermind being out in the wild. This movie showed the brutal reality of surviving during the days of white expansion in the old days. If it wasnt the Indians ,it was a bear or a mountain lion. Not even the biggest bull dyke could handle it in those days.

  66. I would like to just see a frontiersman vs indians vs nature action/violence movie without any political correctness. Just men and groups of men fighting each other, none more moral than the rest, each with blood on their hands.

  67. I agree with much of what Quintus has to say of the movie. However, the movie still squeezed in major PC/cultural Marxist ideological memes in there.
    1. White oppressors vs. Minority victims: Only the Whites (as a group/tribe) committed horrible crimes and atrocities whilst the natives remained in an almost Eden-esque type of innocence and virtue.
    2. Toxic-Masculinity: They fit their rape scene in there, which also included mutilation of a man’s testicles by the victimized woman. You go girl!
    3. Interracial Marriage, dilution of the white race: Glass intermarried with a native who had a son with him. Oh yeah and both of them are murdered by–you guessed it– whites.

  69. The film with the mixed raced kid getting racial abuse from the ‘evil racist white man’ is ‘brilliant’? What has ROK become?

  70. Great immersive movie and spot on review…forgot to mention I had a great wank half way through it, which is always a sign of a good film for me.

  71. I saw this movie before it came out (one of the executives released it early), and it was FREAKING AWESOME!!!
    I noticed the lack of women in it for the most art, and it was actually a breath of fresh air! Also, as a Canadian, it’s basis in Canadian history inspires me to take on their sort of masculinity. Of course, I already strived towards that before, but this strengthened it.
    Also, I should mention a critic actually said the movie was not for women, as it was too ‘brutal’ for them; of course, he’s being attacked for ‘sexism’.

  72. Will not be seeing The Revenant. The writer/director is an anti-white anti-American asshole.

  73. The only truly huge plot leak is captain lacing Fitzgerald yo take care of glass. He had been rallying the idea of killing him the whole time

  74. A truly huge plot leak is the captain leaving Fitzgerald to care for dying glass. He had been openly rallying the troops to kill him. But Revenant is Is no bullshit, beautiful piece of cinema.

  75. I shied away from reading too much of the article, lest I read any “spoilers.” I’ll never understand why, but family members got me four movie passes as stocking stuffers at Christmas. I haven’t been to the theatre since I saw The Dark Knight, on a day when the abbot went out of town and we all broke the rules to go AWOL from the monastery for the afternoon. I don’t usually go, because it seems to me like all the movies are now very badly made, also being either vulgar or nihilistic (or both).
    I’ll take your recommendation that this movie is worth watching, and drag my buddy along to see it.

    1. If I can make a suggestion, the movie Everest, released in the fall of 2015 was pretty good. It should be on Netflix by now. A study of human character in the face of extreme adverse conditions based on a true story of a disaster that happened in 1996. Add to that amazing visuals of the famous mountain done with modern technology, what can you ask more…
      I am definitvely biased because I love mountaineering stories, especially by the early pioneers, although the rational part of my mind would never allow me to put myself thorough the physical pain of an eight-thousander climb like Everest or K2. I am dreaming about it but I will settle for hiking in the safety of the Canadian rockies.
      What is interesting about that movie is that the reckless actions of a rich Jewish female socialite from New York, who was a paying client on this commercial climb, contributed directly among many other things to the chain of events leading to the disaster, although it was completely omitted in the movie.
      Here it goes for your curiosity:
      – she had the chief sherpa haul heavy equipment to the top camps so she could report directly on the internet about her journey to the world
      – she was physically unable to climb in the death zone on the summit push day and had to be short-roped by the same sherpa, who was already exhausted
      – this sherpa was responsible for installing ropes on the Hillary step (the most technical part of the climb) in advance before other climbers arrived and never showed up
      – the other sherpas refused to install the ropes without him
      – the climbers started arriving and had to install the ropes themselves causing a long bottleneck
      – this delay caused a later summiting for many clinets, and even later one for the physically weaker ones, which was way beyond the established turn-around time. And this can be deadly on Everest even in the best of conditions (eg. Bruce Herrod from an expedition a few days later, summit at 5 pm, sounded fine on radio call and took summit pictures, body found next season hanging from the Hillary step near the summit, likely a rope accident).
      To all this, add poor decision making due to altitude, greed, competition between rival team leaders, but also heroic examples of courage and an incredible resilience and will to survive of which man is capable in extreme conditions. A great story.

      1. Geez. Women do ruin everything; what are they even doing on the mountain? I imagine even the men wind up having to help each other out a good deal; it’s just suicide to also be lugging dead weight behind you.
        I know that I can’t climb Everest as I am, so I would never ask somebody to haul me up – and what would be the interest in being hauled up? You can’t derive any sense of accomplishment from it; you could only fool people by bragging as though you made it. But you’d always know you were a fraud.

  77. Bone Tomahawk, with Kurt Russell, is the best movie I’ve seen this year. Compare the culture portrayed in that movie with the culture we have today and you will come away with a healthy sense of what is actually valuable.

  78. The movie seems to be highly regarded even in Hollywood. Interestingly, unlike the 1970 version of the story with Richard Harris. Are even those people regaining common sense?

  79. Great review, but you failed to spot the mistake in the movie; they weren’t transporting pelts back home, it was pharmaceutical grade kratom. When the bear attacked Glass, you’ll just hear one of the guys yell: ‘…for gawd sakes, give the bear some kratom!’

    1. Jesus if a bear had access to Kratom it would be the end of mankind as we know it. Now that would be an interesting apocalypse movie.

  81. Gotta love rok readers (presumably in the 14-22 age bracket, or who grew up watching wwf): the author wants to tell us about a movie with themes of survival in unrelenting harsh environments, without any modern conveniences, and the commenters are tripping over themselves to tell us what their favourite downloaded hoorah masculinity movie or computer game is (blow em all away with your Uzis Rambo 4, be a badass Korean, etc).
    Credit to the commenters who read the book and mentioned Richard harris version, and who tried to analyse the themes. Credit to commenters who were wary of anti-White themes, as I was, but take consolation that it wasn’t as bad as previous Oscar winners like avatar. Interestingly, an actor named Depuis opted out of the movie citing anti white/French sentiment and historical inaccuracy. Nevertheless, brutal atrocities did happen.
    The take home point of the movie, for me, regardless of any questionable anti white themes, was the starkness with which survival for our ancestors was portrayed. The difficulties these people went to in order to civilise and build our societies shouldn’t be overlooked and forgotten by our easy come easy go silver spoon generation of the last 100 years or so (of course, the current crop of the last 30-40 years are at the zenith of spoiled and mollycoddled, even allowing for the degeneracy and nihilism that thug culture has heralded in).
    All those itching for war should watch this movie, as it brings the starkness of suffering right into focus. Though they may not have known it at the time, those people suffered so that we could live in a cohesive society and be unencumbered with existential issues. We’re free to pursue loftier goals, namely, the upgrade of our spirits. America was undoubtedly founded upon brutal violence, which is probably why it’s a hotbed of hate to this day (not helped by race baiting politics and propaganda). But we live in relative splendour, so have a chance to get our souls’ affairs in order before the whole thing descends into shit again.

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