It had too many heavyhanded and tired tricks (i.e. There's a difference in humor between comedic relief and melodrama, and Gibson sways his directorial pendulum too often towards the latter.
The references to this omen by the main antagonists is laughable and needs to be cut. And, sure enough, Jaguar Paw (our protagonist) is saved from death by a solar eclipse and then is discovered by the men chasing him when he is chased by a jaguar. It was at least 3 with his almost murder on top of a temple, jumping from a waterfall, and coming out of quicksand.Ī little girl suddenly appears possessed by a spirit of sorts and says (in a horrible dubbing with an older actress's voice) to beware of the day as dark as night and the man who brings the jaguar. I lost track of how many times he was reborn/given another chance to live. It's alright to have religious undertones, but the main character was paralleled too much to Jesus with prophecies and a rebirth of sorts (although there is a beautiful shot of Jaguar Paw climbing out of the quicksand to be reborn, and resembling a jaguar himself. Mel Gibson doesn't exactly have the best street cred with the Jewish faith and its people, but he has the potential to make some great films if he stops letting himself be so heavily influenced by tired religious overtones and Hollywood cliches. It could have been a brilliant film and had moments of brilliance, but it was heavily, heavily flawed. This next guy’s got a bit more to say: Hello there Harry!! I've just come from one of the first screenings of Mel Gibson's "Apocalytpo" at NYU's Cantor Film Center. Though Mel Gibson may be an anti-Semitic, alcoholic, gore-obsessed maniac, he is obviously an extremely talented director and I highly recommend his Apocalypto. The violence in The Passion wasn't a fluke.Īs far as the other aspects of the films go, the acting from a cast of unknowns was excellent and very believable, the camerawork was good, and the music didn't stand out in a good or bad way. There are gruesome, lingering shots of people having their faces torn off, their hearts ripped out, and worse.
Perhaps it was because I wasn't expecting the film to be anywhere near this violent, but I was shocked. The entire second half of the film is one gigantic set piece. The reason you'll like this film isn't the dialogue, anyway, it's the action. Though some may question the use of Mayan dialogue (and English subtitles), I think that it is essential to the culture and style of the film's world and anything else would just seem weird. I will refrain from giving away too much, because the film often relies and surprise (as evidenced by the constant gasps in the audience). The story follows a young Mayan man, Jaguar Paw, through tragedy and a journey across the treacherous jungle.
I'm not saying that this is the best movie of the year or anything, but it's probably in the Top 10.
The beginning made me skeptical, but by the time the credits rolled, I was utterly floored. His latest film is one of the most brutal, intense movies I have seen in a long while and I absolutely loved it.
I had my suspicions before, but Apocalypto confirms it: Mel Gibson is utterly insane. This first review is short but sweet: I was lucky enough to catch an advance screening of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto at my university's film center.