That remains up for debate. But there is one near certainty when it comes to "The Revenant" - Leonardo DiCaprio should and probably will win his first Academy Award for Best Actor.
Despite having been nominated five times for the film industry's top honor (that includes once as a producer), DiCaprio has come up empty handed. It certainly hasn't been for a lack for trying.
Since his Oscar nominated breakthrough in 1994's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," DiCaprio has delivered more than a dozen award-caliber performances. Sometimes he's been snubbed (No Oscar nomination for "Titanic" or "Django Unchained"). Other times, he's lost to stiff competition (His stellar performance in "The Aviator" finished second to Jamie Foxx's tour de force in "Ray").
Debating the best performance of DiCaprio's career, perhaps the one that should have earned him an Oscar, is tough. Many will tell you it was his role as Howard Hughes in "The Aviator." And I think he was more deserving than Tommy Lee Jones ("The Fugitive") for Best Supporting Actor in 1994. But I also think that award should have went to Ralph Fiennes in "Schindler's List."
Prior to the year's nominations, I assumed DiCaprio was a shoe-in for Best Supporting Actor for "Django Unchained." But voters preferred Chistoph Waltz, whose role in that film felt more like a lead performance.
DiCaprio did deserve more consideration for films like "The Departed," "Catch Me If You Can" and "Shutter Island." And time will tell if his high wire act as Jordan Belfort in "The Wolf of Wall Street" holds up better than Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey in "Dallas Buyers Club."
The entire debate over DiCaprio's impeccable career makes his performance in "The Revenant" all the more impressive. There's really no debating DiCaprio as the frontrunner for Best Actor this year. His performance as fur trapper Hugh Glass makes every other potential nominee seem like a distant second.
In any other year, Michael Fassbender ("Steve Jobs"), Eddie Redmayne ("The Danish Girl") or Johnny Depp ("Black Mass") would be clear favorites. But the physicality of DiCaprio's performance is unmatched.
He didn't lose or gain a ton of weight. Nor does he play a well-known historical figure. What DiCaprio does is far more impactful.
He makes you feel Glass' struggle with every inch of his body. You'll likely marvel at the movie's bear attack scene, a marvel of CGI work. Yet, it would be nothing without DiCaprio's willingness to throw is body around to painful measures.
He barely has few lines in the film and spends much of it crawling through the snow. Yet, you can't take your eyes off him. "The Revenant" is an endurance test DiCaprio carries you through.
There's a scene in which the exhausted actor looks directly at the camera. It's as if he's telling the viewer, "We did it."
"The Revenant" is not just the best performance of DiCaprio's career. It's one of the greatest acting achievements of the last 15 years.
For my money, it's up there with Mickey Rourke's work in "The Wrestler" and Heath Ledger's uncanny portrayal of the Joker in "The Dark Knight" as one of the three best male acting performances in recent memory.
When DiCaprio takes the stage at the Academy Awards in Hollywood on Feb. 28, you can call it a career achievement award. Yet, had he never acted a day in his life prior to "The Revenant," he'd still be the obvious choice.