Apocalypto

Mel Gibson has definitely left the mainstream and after boldly stepping out with his religious opus, he confidently follows his own cinematic path, disregarding critics, audiences, and dollar expenditure/revenue. Yet while Jesus Christ’s last few hours carried plenty of emotion (in whatever way) to every viewer, regardless of any religious or social feeling, the end of the Mayan civilization is a bit more difficult. The simple story of a journey to hell and back is based on the viewer's mere perception of an audiovisual orgy, without any deeper emotional feedback. In order to fully appreciate the hour-long (!) sprint through the rainforest, Gibson should have focused more on the relationships between the characters in the initial exposition, and not just mindlessly joke about one of the protagonists' lack of potency. Also, the film’s form loses steam as the minutes go by. The use of the digital camera didn't work (the entire thing would have looked much better and more cinematic using classic film material) and Horner's music is slightly monotonous towards the end. Still, there is nothing boring about it and I applaud Gibson's efforts to make Hollywood tell stories in a different way. (2007-03-06)

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)

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)

Apocalypto can be seen as either an über-brutal adventure ride or an ideological banquet. The latter is heavily favored by Gibson's pro-Christian bigotry (ingeniously hidden here), the consistent depiction of the decline of the Mayan empire, which refers to the cause mainly in terms of social differences, and the finale with the arrival of the ships that so unwittingly save the protagonist, and it's hard not to notice the Christian symbolism in this scene. So it's not hard to see that Mel Gibson is currently a radical left-wing Catholic and for a long time that's the only thing to take away from the film. Fortunately, I'm reviewing this from a first-person perspective and thus, except for the unwatchable digital camera for me, I was supremely satisfied. Still, if Apocalypto is telling us between the lines that the Conquistador massacres were the best thing that could have happened to South and Central America, then still, points for courage -) (2010-10-23)

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)