When holding Apocalypto, The Passion of the Christ and Braveheart side by side, a question comes to mind; Is Mel Gibson a vampire? He likes blood, Passion has it free flowing, but beside his pasty complexion on his mug shots, maybe he isn't one. But Gibson could be called an emotional vampire, with these three films sucking every emotion out till there's nothing but depressing emotions to go with the depressing state of affairs found in his films.
Apocalypto starts at the decline of the Mayan civilisation. Disease and famine are hitting hard, with the rulers demanding more human sacrifices to appease their Gods. Their hunters pillage surrounding villages to capture the inhabitants to be use for the sacrifice; their heart ripped from the body and head decapitated. From one of the villages, Jaguar Paw is captured along with his friends and family. To escape from being sacrificed, Jaguar Paw flees, though in hot pursuit.
Apocalypto can easily be split into two sections. To start off, opening part runs as a some what comedy. The village Mayan's play practical jokes on each other and shows Juguar Paw as the family man with expecting wife and young son. Used as an easement to the second part, this start is off and doesn't click. Sexual jokes and the mother badgering her son in law to produce a grand child miss their marks, adding to the facade of what Apocalypto really is. Even during the pillage of the village the action doesn't hold the emotional detrimental effects wanted. On the arrival at the stone temple city Mayan's, we hit the bridge to the second part, the mood changes to a deeply ethereal atmosphere. Dread fills the captives, as their fate is shown off in the distance as heads roll down from the temples. The mood is suffocating and taunt and quite a visceral moment.
Hitting the second part, this is when all the gears synchronize and reveal what this film really is, an action film. On Juguar Paw's escape and pursuit of his captors, Apocalypto becomes a chase film, and this is what it's most effective as. The drama missing a lot of resonance, besides the time of the sacrifices, and the wonderful cinematography taking over from the story at times, the second part works so well due to the exceptionally stage set pieces. A draw back is that the chase suffers from predictability, as people are picked off one by one and a race against time for Juguar Paw to save his wife, but is easily forgone due to Gibson's craft as a film maker and the fast pace and unrelenting pursuit Juguar Paw suffers. The violence is also used to a visceral extent. The gore and blood isn't as high as people hyped too. Yes blood is splattered freely and Gibson doesn't turn from the gore, but there's restraint, from the all out gore fest of Passion.
The drama aspect of Apocalypto lacks the emotional impact and the comparison between the decline of the Mayan civilisation and modern day society may not make a mark on many; it's there to dig out, but behind everything, lies the heart of a well staged action film.
Apocalypto starts at the decline of the Mayan civilisation. Disease and famine are hitting hard, with the rulers demanding more human sacrifices to appease their Gods. Their hunters pillage surrounding villages to capture the inhabitants to be use for the sacrifice; their heart ripped from the body and head decapitated. From one of the villages, Jaguar Paw is captured along with his friends and family. To escape from being sacrificed, Jaguar Paw flees, though in hot pursuit.
Apocalypto can easily be split into two sections. To start off, opening part runs as a some what comedy. The village Mayan's play practical jokes on each other and shows Juguar Paw as the family man with expecting wife and young son. Used as an easement to the second part, this start is off and doesn't click. Sexual jokes and the mother badgering her son in law to produce a grand child miss their marks, adding to the facade of what Apocalypto really is. Even during the pillage of the village the action doesn't hold the emotional detrimental effects wanted. On the arrival at the stone temple city Mayan's, we hit the bridge to the second part, the mood changes to a deeply ethereal atmosphere. Dread fills the captives, as their fate is shown off in the distance as heads roll down from the temples. The mood is suffocating and taunt and quite a visceral moment.
Hitting the second part, this is when all the gears synchronize and reveal what this film really is, an action film. On Juguar Paw's escape and pursuit of his captors, Apocalypto becomes a chase film, and this is what it's most effective as. The drama missing a lot of resonance, besides the time of the sacrifices, and the wonderful cinematography taking over from the story at times, the second part works so well due to the exceptionally stage set pieces. A draw back is that the chase suffers from predictability, as people are picked off one by one and a race against time for Juguar Paw to save his wife, but is easily forgone due to Gibson's craft as a film maker and the fast pace and unrelenting pursuit Juguar Paw suffers. The violence is also used to a visceral extent. The gore and blood isn't as high as people hyped too. Yes blood is splattered freely and Gibson doesn't turn from the gore, but there's restraint, from the all out gore fest of Passion.
The drama aspect of Apocalypto lacks the emotional impact and the comparison between the decline of the Mayan civilisation and modern day society may not make a mark on many; it's there to dig out, but behind everything, lies the heart of a well staged action film.