Apocalypto DVD Review

"Apocalypto" reviews

DVD

Apocalypto

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-06-08 15:04:24

Provider

DVD Review

The twilight of the Mayan civilization becomes a fictional cinematic spectacle in Mel Gibson's Apocalypto; seen through the eyes of the young father and hunter, Jaguar Paw.

Paw's tribe live in the jungle - hunting and joking together - sharing a simple, familial existence. The calm is rudely interrupted when demonic ruthless hunters ransack their village, slaughtering or taking its inhabitants for auction and sacrifice at a Mayan city. Jaguar Paw manages to hide his young family, but sees his father killed before his eyes by Snake Ink sparking a rivalry that develops into an impressive, though grisly, chase.

Gibson's use of Will Durant's quote regarding Rome's demise in the opening: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within" seems his basis for making this into a 'universal warning' to modern man of the terror of global immolation. Taking the high ground is all very well, but this is a rollickingly good action film - gripping and visceral - albeit with a 'creative' use of history. Gibson includes brutally bloody and gruesome episodes as well as some stunning panoramic cinema, while extracting tremendous performances from near novices, especially Rudy Youngblood as Jaguar Paw. It looks, sounds and feels real.

Some of the drama and romance will jar. Much of it is too bloodthirsty, too sentimental, too coincidental or just plain historically inaccurate. However subtitles for the Yucatec Maya spoken throughout should not deter.

Gibson's foot-stomping "world-gone-wayward" message needs to be set aside for what is a startling film of a lost world, liberally sprinkled with the best of mainstream Hollywood's tricks to engage and enthral. Superb, surprising, shocking or scary - it depends on your personal philosophy.

DVD extras include Becoming Mayan: Creating Apocalypto feature, Deleted Scene With Optional Commentary, Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Mel Gibson and with Writer/Co-Producer Farhad Safinia, and Audio Commentary By Gibson and Sarfinia.