rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2006
Directed by Mel Gibson; produced by Bruce Davey, Mel Gibson; written by Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia
Starring (the voices of) Woody Allen, Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Jennifer Lopez, Jane Curtin, Christopher Walken
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
I really don't care whether Mel Gibson's depiction of the Maya civilization
is accurate or not. I understand his film is a dramatized version of events
and there are always people somewhere in the world offended by history
displayed in film. In my opinion Mel Gibson shows us a lot of insights,
giving the audience a reason to look up information about these people.
'Apocalypto' follows a Mayan named Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), violently
taken away from his pregnant wife and son. This is done by other Mayan
tribes, who have a lifestyle that probably looks most familiar to the
unknown audience like myself. Not much is explained in the film, but this is
because we see it from Jaguar Paw's point of view who is surprised by what
he sees as well. Before he is lead to a place where his head will be cut off
he learns his destiny from drawings on the wall. I will not reveal the
details, but from the start it is obvious he will escape from the other
tribe and the second half of the film shows him on the run.
The film is basically an adventurous action thriller where the Maya and
their way of life are used as a backdrop. Seeing it as that Gibson has done
a tremendous job giving us an entertaining piece of work. It is always
exciting; the story only takes little breaks to look, together with Jaguar
Paw, in awe to look at the customs of these people. The cinematography
captures a lot of beautiful images and the music, although from time to time
too much on the foreground, fits the atmosphere. Gibson gets the best from
his actors, who are handled by the make-up artist in a brilliant way. Simply
said, the production values are great.
The minor flaws, including some simple choices concerning the plot and the
constant feeling Gibson was telling another story (religious) beneath the
surface, are not really distracting although quite easy to point out. The
ending was a little disappointing, but since the film starts with the line
(said about the Roman Empire) "a great civilization is not conquered from
without until it has destroyed itself from within" it also seems inevitable.
You could attack certain aspects of 'Apocalypto' but see it as entertainment
(with a little depth) and you will be pleased.