Apocalypto

A distinctive work by a distinctive artist. What I like about Mel Gibson is that despite the journalistic statements about "sadist Gibson", he still goes about his business, ignores all critics and keeps his creative freedom. He doesn’t spare violence here either, but unlike The Passion of the Christ, it is kept within tolerable limits (like the battle scenes in Braveheart). For example, the scene of the double sacrificial heart-cutting is quite subtly depicted, and its media criticism is completely out of place. If I am telling a story from the time of the late Mayan empire, it would be strange to omit this quite common practice. Aside from Gibson's light allusions to the manipulation of crowds and the depiction of the decadence of society, a concomitant phenomenon of the decline of great empires, looking for some kind of insight here is completely pointless. The whole film is constructed as a kind of ancient narrative of hunters somewhere by the fire, who, with typical male vanity, show off where they killed who, who they escaped from or who they saved. In this respect, the film is absolutely great and I don't really care about the lack of an idea. Moreover, Gibson's direction is imaginative, the make-up and adornments of the protagonists and the visuals of the Mayan metropolis scene are a triumph of cinematic art design. Mel did not disappoint again and continues to be for me a breath of fresh air in the stale Hollywood production :o) (2007-02-05)

This hyperactive indie flick is never boring even for a moment – as long as you have popcorn. The deeper intellectual dimension is only artificially grafted on and, together with the gratuitous violence, undermines the film. Apocalypto could have been either an excellent family film or a great existential drama, but it’s unsuitable for children because of its brutality and it turns off adults with its thematic shallowness. On top of that, the visuals look cheap due to the large number of shots filmed with a digital camera. The dynamics and editing are great, but the filters could have been put to better use, which would have helped the appearance of the film, giving it the look that makes The Passion of the Christ an audio-visual gem. Apocalypto is a thrilling experience, but a few days after watching it, you remember it as a forgettable farce that missed the mark. (2007-02-05)

Gibson obviously doesn't like his characters very much for reasons unknown. Jaguar Paw goes through hell, sees his friends die and, badly wounded, fights for his bare life on land, under waterfalls or in deadly swamps, only for the sake of a simple mainstream story and to satisfy a popcorn audience hungry for blood, action and convenient clichés. It must be admitted that we all have at least a bit of such a viewer in us and that Apocalypto is a unique Hollywood adventure that is not boring, is loaded with adrenaline and brings a glimpse into a now mythical stage of human history that we have never seen before. Mel's laudable intentions, backed by an attempt at heavy naturalism and crowned with undeniable formal precision and efficiency, starting with the ancient language and believable actors and ending with the aggressive music, editing and attractive setting, are nice, but in the end they stand out terribly negatively and the targeted authenticity is undermined by the unnecessarily overblown "cinematic" brutality, the too conspicuously digital sequences (especially the monkey fight over the abyss was completely out of place), and finally the story itself, which is far too contrived to appeal the masses and relies on a kind of supernaturalism thanks to which the protagonist always escapes alive despite less than zero odds. It's great to watch and I'm very glad that something like this could be made, but next time it would need a more distinctive, less trite concept... 80% (2012-02-06)

When I was 11, I read an incredibly comprehensive 8-part series about Tarzan and I completely fell in love with that world full of adventure, battles, and mysterious creatures. Back then, I dreamt that someone would make a movie that could visualize all that magic, adventure, action, and suspense. I think Mel Gibson could handle such a task admirably and that it would even be amazing. The problem is that Apocalypto presented itself as a real story set in the pre-Columbian era of indigenous cultures and at least the advertisement claimed that the viewer would learn a lot about these cultures. That is not the case at all. Apocalypto is a film that uses this setting as mere background for a very simple action-packed and quite bloody story about the raid and annihilation of a village. Native Americans did not fight or live like this. However, it is colorful, reasonably exotic, and dynamic. Gibson seems to be an average actor, excellent producer, and marketing wizard, but a problematic director. I would accept the film at least in its simple action-packed form, if it was also able to lighten up a little, but it takes itself too seriously and I cannot forgive that. Overall impression: 65%. (2007-10-23)

Gibson has balls. To have the nerve to make a movie that ends up basically as one big chase through the ancient history of the Maya civilization, you have to have them. Although a bit more editing might have been an improvement, I am basically pleased with Apocalypto. And not forgetting Horner’s excellent music, too. (2007-12-07)