Apocalypto Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

Drunk in B&Q

what was this about? no plot at all - you might as well get drunk and fall about in the Indoor Plant section of a B&Q warehouse and rattle a few leaves - dire

Rambo meets Last of the Mohicans meets Amistad

I have to say that this was a cracking film and I enjoyed it very much. The subtitles are not a distraction at all; in fact most of the time the script is so in line with the plot that you've guessed what the character is saying before you've read the subtitle. It is quite gory in parts, but not especially more so than something like Braveheart. Historically it mixes timelines; for instance the Mayan civilisation was in its' decline by the time the Spanish arrive, yet in the film it appears to be in its' pomp. However, one can forgive Gibson for this and it does add to the storyline. The stort starts with the hero (one of many villagers) being captured for the use of the Mayans (thus my reference to Amistad), who intend to sacrifice them. The hero escapes (a Mohicans style chase ensues) before finally returning to his part of the woods (literally), where he decides to hunt those pursuing him. I have to say this made me chuckle; it was very reminiscent of when the cops are chasing Rambo into the woods in 'firstblood' and he uses his know how to take them down one by one. Great pace, visually impressive, a good soundtrack and some grissly special effects that make you recoil, then watch more!

* * * This review contains spoilers * * *ShowHide

Outstanding!

I didn't expect to enjoy this film. Actors speaking in an ancient language - in a Mayan dialect - sounded like hard work. But I was quite wrong. If you can stomach the horrific violence that just keeps coming, it is a tremendous and gripping film with a great story, vivid characters and a hero you will desperately want to see win through. The photography, music, settings, makeup and costumes are all superb and Mel Gibson’s direction is faultless. The exciting and exhausting final chase eventually comes to an end on a beach on the edge of the forest where an unexpected but totally believable revelation neatly guides the story to its close.

Looks great

Visually stunning movie with tremendous set pieces and some very decent acting. Yes this is a very bloody and gory movie but in context it was the way of the Mayan culture. Worth watching.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Standard Gibson Fare

It goes without saying that even Wikipedia would better inform you about Maya history – this, after all, is a Mel Gibson film, and so naturally facts get dispatched quicker than a Maya sacrifice. In any case, complaining about inaccurate history in a Mel Gibson film is a bit of a waste of time since he clearly couldn’t care less himself.

Where the film is strong is in its cinematic scope. He has used the expertise of his superb historical consultant (Dr Richard Hansen) not to create a factually accurate account but mesmerizing visuals instead. The scenes of the Maya capital are simply breathtaking and only someone of Gibson’s confidence would even think to conceive of such a thing. The script is sparse, and so thankfully the acting is absolutely superb, in particular the lead Rudy Youngblood (Jaguar Paw). Gibson’s insistence on using Yucatec Maya for all the dialogue definitely brings something to the film, and I quickly felt immersed in their world.

As usual, violence is a big issue. On the one hand, all the violence is ‘appropriate’, in so far as killing someone with a club really is a messy business, as is being mauled by a jaguar, or sacrificed by a Maya priest. That said, do we always have to see it? What is the benefit to the viewer of flinching at gore? How does it add to the cinematic experience? I was never wholly convinced that cinematic realism and not his own sadistic tendencies was the real motive for including such scenes.

The moralizing is another familiar feature of Gibson’s film-making, and as usual it is rather confused. He begins with Will Durant’s quote, “A great civilization is not conquered from without, until it has destroyed itself from within.” So the difficult times the Maya are having in the film is because of their bloodthirsty behaviour, and if they stopped things would get better? In which case, who is causing their difficulties? Knowing Gibson, I should imagine God. But of course this is never explored, and given that he is not the most cerebral of directors, I doubt it crossed his mind. While the film is certainly captivating, it never engages the brain.

As a Mel Gibson movie this is hard to fault – it has the action, the visuals, the acting and the vision which we have come to expect. It also has a tendency to oscillate between sickly sweet sentimentality and brutal violence and has a total disprespect for historical authenticity while putting forward a moral which, to a great extent, relies on the skewed view of historical events to work. As with ‘The Passion of the Christ’, it is hard not to feel ambivalent about this remarkable film.