As more than one commentator has noted, in terms of plot APOCALYPTO seems to draw from the 1966 THE NAKED PREY, the 1932 THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, and the numerous films both have influenced over the years. In this particular instance the story focuses on Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), whose presumably peaceful village is destroyed by Mayans intent upon obtaining human sacrifice to appease their bloodthirsty gods. After a harrowing march to the Mayan city, Jaguar Paw escapes death--and the city, with a furious party of Myan warriors in hot pursuit.
Not surprisingly, there is considerable bleed-over from Mel Gibson's 2004 THE PASSION OF THE Christ into the 2006 APOCALYPTO. The two have often been compared in terms of violence, but the connection goes quite a bit deeper this; it is embedded in the subtext of the film itself. A forced march while tied to long poles; a prayer uttered by a woman that sounds suspiciously like a Mayan-language Hail Mary; a prophesy that warns about a man "reborn from mud and earth" who will "end your world;" and enough arrow and javelin wounds to slay Saint Sebastian himself several times over. The ending is a bit of a quandary, certainly more open to interpretation than that of THE PASSION--but striking the same tone and tying all the subtextual imagery directly to the Roman Catholic Church. And we need hardly mention the title of the film itself, a reference to the vision of St. John the Divine.
It is also worth noting that, like THE PASSION, APOCALYPTO has a none too subtle point: the Mayans, at least as Gibson presents them (the film is riddled with historical inaccuracy, but I'll leave that argument to the scholars), are a corrupt society en route to self-destruction: they have stripped the land of its resources and their civilization has become unsustainable. Given Gibson's own well-known religious sentiments, there is a certain irony in that the Mayans are driven into this by blindly-followed religious motives. In any case, we are clearly intended to read the overall film as commentary of sorts on contemporary society's rape of the planet.
Although I would give the dubious prize of "most violent" to THE PASSION, there is plenty to go around in APOCALYPTO--and, as in THE PASSION, it is not always of a viable nature. I find it hard to believe that Jaguar Paw's tribe hunted with the horrifically lethal trap shown here; the Mayans were not as blood-thirsty as portrayed here (Gibson seems to have confused them with the Aztecs), and lot many of the rituals, weapons, and the game of "run for your life" itself, are highly speculative at best. Even so, I cannot actually say that the violence or its graphic nature are implausible within the context of the film.
What IS completely implausible is the amount of physical damage Jaguar Paw sustains without being mortally wounded. He is dragged along in bondage, half hung by accident, escapes sacrifice by a fraction of a second, is shot through with an arrow, and all the rest--but like the old Timex Watch slogan, he takes a licking and keeps on ticking, seeming to run without pause for forty-eight hours, vaulting down a waterfall, and even getting clipped a time or two more, most often with scarcely a pause to wince. But Gibson is fair about it: he endows Jaguar Paw's pursuers with the same absurdly improbable endurance and strength.
Although it has its flaws--and what film doesn't?--the truly great thing about APOCALYPTO is the technical brilliance and artistic eye that Gibson and his team bring to the project. It's visually dazzling, and Gibson and cinematographer Dean Semler have knack for selecting one knock-out camera set up after another. Everything from cast to costumes is truly amazing, and the film moves with tremendous speed. One thing it isn't is dull.
But it is extremely troubling. In addition to THE PASSION, one might also compare it to the notorious 1979 CALIGULA, a film which so mingled sex and violence that both could be considered equally pornographic. Although there's no visual sex at all--it is a subject Gibson tends to shy away from--APOCALYPTO has much the same effect. The violence is essentially pornographic in nature, teasing us, leading us on to increasingly intense climaxes of blood and gore. One has to wonder at the motives here, particularly when the producer-director-writer is so clearly trying to make a "save the world" statement; it seems to me that Gibson's visions are less a solution than part of the problem itself--and doesn't mind, as many scholars have noted, twisting historical fact in the process. It would seem that Gibson is determined to have a personal martyrdom by cinematic proxy. It's all very problematic.
The DVD quality is very fine and offers a commentary track by Gibson, et al and a making-of featurette. Three stars for technical brilliance.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Not surprisingly, there is considerable bleed-over from Mel Gibson's 2004 THE PASSION OF THE Christ into the 2006 APOCALYPTO. The two have often been compared in terms of violence, but the connection goes quite a bit deeper this; it is embedded in the subtext of the film itself. A forced march while tied to long poles; a prayer uttered by a woman that sounds suspiciously like a Mayan-language Hail Mary; a prophesy that warns about a man "reborn from mud and earth" who will "end your world;" and enough arrow and javelin wounds to slay Saint Sebastian himself several times over. The ending is a bit of a quandary, certainly more open to interpretation than that of THE PASSION--but striking the same tone and tying all the subtextual imagery directly to the Roman Catholic Church. And we need hardly mention the title of the film itself, a reference to the vision of St. John the Divine.
It is also worth noting that, like THE PASSION, APOCALYPTO has a none too subtle point: the Mayans, at least as Gibson presents them (the film is riddled with historical inaccuracy, but I'll leave that argument to the scholars), are a corrupt society en route to self-destruction: they have stripped the land of its resources and their civilization has become unsustainable. Given Gibson's own well-known religious sentiments, there is a certain irony in that the Mayans are driven into this by blindly-followed religious motives. In any case, we are clearly intended to read the overall film as commentary of sorts on contemporary society's rape of the planet.
Although I would give the dubious prize of "most violent" to THE PASSION, there is plenty to go around in APOCALYPTO--and, as in THE PASSION, it is not always of a viable nature. I find it hard to believe that Jaguar Paw's tribe hunted with the horrifically lethal trap shown here; the Mayans were not as blood-thirsty as portrayed here (Gibson seems to have confused them with the Aztecs), and lot many of the rituals, weapons, and the game of "run for your life" itself, are highly speculative at best. Even so, I cannot actually say that the violence or its graphic nature are implausible within the context of the film.
What IS completely implausible is the amount of physical damage Jaguar Paw sustains without being mortally wounded. He is dragged along in bondage, half hung by accident, escapes sacrifice by a fraction of a second, is shot through with an arrow, and all the rest--but like the old Timex Watch slogan, he takes a licking and keeps on ticking, seeming to run without pause for forty-eight hours, vaulting down a waterfall, and even getting clipped a time or two more, most often with scarcely a pause to wince. But Gibson is fair about it: he endows Jaguar Paw's pursuers with the same absurdly improbable endurance and strength.
Although it has its flaws--and what film doesn't?--the truly great thing about APOCALYPTO is the technical brilliance and artistic eye that Gibson and his team bring to the project. It's visually dazzling, and Gibson and cinematographer Dean Semler have knack for selecting one knock-out camera set up after another. Everything from cast to costumes is truly amazing, and the film moves with tremendous speed. One thing it isn't is dull.
But it is extremely troubling. In addition to THE PASSION, one might also compare it to the notorious 1979 CALIGULA, a film which so mingled sex and violence that both could be considered equally pornographic. Although there's no visual sex at all--it is a subject Gibson tends to shy away from--APOCALYPTO has much the same effect. The violence is essentially pornographic in nature, teasing us, leading us on to increasingly intense climaxes of blood and gore. One has to wonder at the motives here, particularly when the producer-director-writer is so clearly trying to make a "save the world" statement; it seems to me that Gibson's visions are less a solution than part of the problem itself--and doesn't mind, as many scholars have noted, twisting historical fact in the process. It would seem that Gibson is determined to have a personal martyrdom by cinematic proxy. It's all very problematic.
The DVD quality is very fine and offers a commentary track by Gibson, et al and a making-of featurette. Three stars for technical brilliance.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer