The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is visually stunning but simplistic

Leonardo DiCaprio battles the elements in the frontier adventure The Revenant, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's epic, extreme tale of endurance and survival based on a true story. 

DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, an early 19th-century explorer and fur trapper leading a band of colleagues back to base while crossing through a brutal, unforgiving land. 

Considered a front-runner for the upcoming Oscars, the film was partially shot in Canada and features Canadians in its cast. 

• Saskatchewan's Isaiah Tootoosis, 8, debuts in film with Leonardo DiCaprio

• Indigenous actor takes turn as stuntman in The Revenant

• The Revenant stars B.C. First Nations actor alongside Leonardo DiCaprio

• N.W.T.'s Melaw Nakehk'o makes her Hollywood debut in The Revenant

• The Revenant sees Vancouver's Gracey Dove star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio

The Revenant is visually stunning, but the story is simplistic. Though Oscar-winner Inarritu and DiCaprio have recounted (on multiple occasions) the punishing challenges of bringing this tale to the screen, all that agony makes the movie something to endure rather than inspire, says CBC film reviewer Eli Glasner.

Watch Glasner's full review of The Revenant in the video above.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.