Touchstone Pictures & Icon Entertainment

presents

Movie: APOCALYPTO (Mayan)
Director: MEL GIBSON
Year: 2006
Country: America
Genre: Historical, Thriller
Cast: Rudy Youngblood
Duration: 2h 13m (app)

Mel Gibson after his blockbuster yet critically ridiculed ‘Passion of the Christ’ comes up with yet another brutal historical/mythical movie ‘Apocalypto’. In the opening scene the camera focuses slowly onto the dark interiors of bushes and trees in a forest and suddenly a wild pig skitters out setting the tone of what is to follow in the next 2 hours.

Mel Gibson’s narrative of a tribal herd group which is rudely savaged by a more powerful gang as a part of the deal to produce humans for the sacrifice to the people of the Mayan Civilization is brutal, fierce, and adventurous with a good share of jolt and pace.

The film begins with a artistic note and gives the impression that the director was inclined to emphasize the brutal differences of various civic/tribal group but then the film take a turn towards what is a racy thriller. The full credits need to go to the direction aspect where details are very much looked into.

The strain to make the movie look as authentic as possible is well noticed from scenes like the way Jaguar Paw’s wife mends together her son’s cut by using ants, the brute techniques of healing like cutting a clot open and the sets in the Mayan township. As the movie proceeds with the captives being taken to the place built of stone Gibson puts in the inevitable material aspects that grows with the civilization just as a character in the movie tells at the beginning – “there is a hole in man, and he tries to keep filling it until the earth finally says, I have nothing else to offer you”.

The direction is the best part, since Gibson has definitely played a wonderful part in moving the film at a pace that suits any chase-thriller best. The camera by Dean Semler deserves specific mention here, though why sudden jumps to digital visuals in the dogma shots of Jaguar Paw running was unclear. Although that could not be immediately recognized it could cause a distraction to the viewer from a palpable tension.

The music part features a number of tunes with an Asian influence. Hollywood filmmakers are finding aesthetics in the Hindustani/Sufi kind of tunes of late. But however the typical tribal drums that background the chase sequences provide good accompaniment. The cream of the movie was Mel Gibson helming with his direction and Rudy Youngblood in his first movie has donned a heavy role to a T.

Despite most of the aspects making ‘Apocalypto’ a good watch, (the contents are Adult oriented because of the excessive violence) the dramatization of the climax involving the birth and save sequence looked as if it was picked from a usual Hollywood movie. However ‘Apocalypto’ is a worthy watch for people who nothing more than a good horror-thriller show.

PROS
Direction

CONS
The Dramatic climax

COMMENTS
A brutal thriller that will dry the saliva in your mouth

TAGLINE
A Thrill Ride

GRADING
Direction: B+
OVERALL: B

RATING: 7.6 / 10.0