7tavern: Apocalypto

Apocalypto

Sound (3)
3.3
Plot (3)
3.3
Cast (3)
3.3
Special Effects (3)
3.2
Length & Pace (3)
3.3
Cinematography (3)
3.3

Directors: Mel Gibson

Writers: Mel Gibson (written by) & Farhad Safinia (written by)

Release: 8 December 2006 (USA)

Tagline: When the end comes, not everyone is ready to go

Plot: As the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, the rulers insist the key to prosperity is to build more temples and offer human sacrifices. Jaguar Paw, a young man captured for sacrifice, flees to avoid his fate.

Cast: Rudy Youngblood - Jaguar Paw, Dalia Hernandez - Seven, Jonathan Brewer - Blunted, Morris Birdyellowhead - Flint Sky, Carlos Emilio Baez - Turtles Run, Amilcar Ramirez - Curl Nose, Israel Contreras - Smoke Frog, Israel Rios - Cocoa Leaf, Maria Isabel Diaz - Mother in Law (as Isabel Diaz), Espiridion Acosta Cache - Old Story Teller, Mayra Serbulo - Young Woman, Iazua Larios - Sky Flower, Lorena Heranandez - Village Girl, Itandehui Gutierrez - Wife, Sayuri Gutierrez - Eldest Daughter

Runtime: 139 min

Country: USA

Language: Maya

Company: Icon Entertainment International

Links: IMDb Profile

Categories: Action, Adventure, Drama

Main

Trailer

Squish
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2.5

Apocalypto (2006)

Stop being such a Chichen Itza

Genre: Period Action Adventure Drama

Starring: Rudy Youngblood, Raoul Trujillo (Scanners II: The New Order • The New World)

Directed By: Mel Gibson (The Passion of The Christ • Braveheart)

Overview: During the decline of the Mayan civilization, slavers ravage a Mayan village and bring their captives back to the city. On the way, a diseased girl prophecizes the demise of the slavers and their society at the hand of the man who may very well be one of their slaves.

Apocalypto opens with Mayan village hunters in the forest taking down a tapir. This primitive village's life revolves around survival, reproduction and having a good time, be it fire dancing, practical jokes or crazy body modification. Soon the strife hits, and fearsome warriors stalk the village, ready to attack. A gory battle ensues and when it's over, the invaders have taken the surviving villagers as captives and are trekking them off to their fate. Along their travels, dark symbols abound of a society in decline, including a plague-riddle girl prophesizing the end. Whether she means the end of their party or the end of their society is, as yet, uncertain. From here, the slavers bring their victims to a bustling metropolis, a surreal place with impressive architecture of towering temples, deathly-white-dusted slaves open-pit mining, and a nobility that is freakishly strange while still being impressively regal. It is clear that the awe and oddity we're seeing is as fresh to the eyes of these primitive captive villagers as it is to the audience. The mystery and wonder of Apocalypto peaks here, when these prisoners, including our hero, Panther's Paw, are thrust into the madness of a place completely foreign to them as they await with a morbid curiosity what lot they will be assigned. Due to my hatred of spoilers, I'll stop the tale here in hopes of stoking the fires of your curiosity.

What I regret most is that Apocalypto is, above all things, an adventure story, a survival thriller even, however Apocalypto's strength is not in its survival slant, but in its attention to historical detail. Every face is tattooed and pierced, and I've read, every actor is of Mayan descent. My preference would have been a Mayan Historical Drama that was entirely set in a Mayan capital's marketplace, although after seeing such epic scenes as the one shown in the screencap below, it is obvious that it would have been far too expensive to produce. Still, after seeing what Gibson and his crew were capable of delivering, I mourn a little, knowing it would have been capably done. Have no fear, kiddies, as what we lose in dynamic settings, history and anthropology brought to life on screen, we more than make up in the performance of our heroes and villains. Our hero is a character written appropriately. Not saying much, Panther's Paw is an everyman who needs no real introduction. His most domineering captor is played to perfection by Raoul Trujillo. His character, Zero Wolf, is a fearless leader with overwhelming strength, both physical and spiritual, and by far my personal favourite. Under him is Middle Eye, an entirely sadistic wild card teetering on the brink of madness, played by Gerardo Taracena. These characters are in most of this film's scenes and it's a genuine gift whenever Zero Wolf speaks, hunts, or even just stands there. Raoul Trujillo is a genuine presence on screen and I look forward to seeing him in other productions, including The New World.

For all my queasy readers who felt that Gibson's brutally gory Passion of the Christ was just a little too drawn out and a lot too gratuitous, you'll find that Apocalypto delivers an unflinching blow when it comes to violence, but though plentiful, those moments are hardly long and drawn out. In fact Apocalypto is far more 'fun', choosing instead to have more of an escapist undercurrent as opposed to presenting brutalities in hyper-realism.

There you go, build more temples!

Performance: 8 Cinematography: 9 Script: 9 Plot: 8 Mood: 8

Overall Rating: 84% (A Proper Trip...To...)

Aftertaste:
As I watched Apocalypto, I was happy that I had read Aztec, a historical drama about an old man recounting, to the
Spanish, the travels and culture of his youth. In Aztec, we learn of all three major players of this continent at that time: Aztec, Mayan and Incan societies. Aztec is a great read, and in fact served to explain a few unexplained facts present in Apocalypto, most notably a scene where a dropped bowl of beans were being fought over in the marketplace. Knowing that cocoa beans were used as currency back then, well that explains everything, doesn't it? If you're a reader, check it out, then watch Apocalypto knowing that it's set in the same era - the late 15th century. Might I add that this film is available on Blu-Ray?

I think I will.

Recommendations: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009), Requiem for a Dream, Dawn of the Dead

2010-07-28 10:12:54

rammfan518
Reviews: 17
Points: 0 (Level 1)
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2.5

Apocalypto [potential spoilers]

***this review discusses parts of the plot and may act as a spoiler! If you haven’t yet viewed the film and don’t want spoilers, then perhaps you should return to this review after viewing it. Sincerely, Rammfan518***

At my college, CSU Monterey Bay, they show movies that are in that strange void between out of movie theaters and not yet on video in the World Theater. However, the World Theater was being used, so we watched ‘Apocalypto’ in a walk-in freezer of an auditorium on a screen half the size. That’s ok. . .but we watched a VHS. I hate fullscreen! There’s so much I was missing on those thin sides that are brutally cut off by the fullscreen 4:3 aspect ratio! Ahhh! However, if any movie’s sides are going to be “brutally cut off,” I suppose it should be this one.

Onto the movie now.This movie is pretty dang good. I enjoyed it. . .a lot. The film begins with a nice introduction to the tribe of the good guys. We joke around with them, we see them laugh, tell stories and just have a jolly time. To me, I felt like I wanted to hang out with these people. These people are a fun and loving tribe, so when their village gets attacked, I couldn’t help but be heartbroken. I watched with sad eyes as the bad guys burned their huts, killed their elders and dragged away their women. :( I thought that Juguar Paw’s wife Seven was super-cute and thier child, Turtles Run was pretty funny. I really wanted nothing bad to happen to this family.

So, Jaguar Paw is taken away while his wife and child remain in a sink-hole -kinda-thing to hide until he returns. Jaguar Paw’s trek with his captors is just the beginning of his long journey. I was strangely not affected the sacrifice scene. I suppose I was looking at it from a historical kind of “whoa. . .that’s what it must have been like. . .” standpoint. It was a sad scene, though. . .and somewhat eerie as well. Those big masks of those angry gods and that weird, laughing, chubby boy. And it was sad to see some of the good guys go. :(

The movie gets kicked into overdrive when the Jaguar Paw enters the forest after killing Zero Wolf’s (the main bad guy) son. In order to be free, Jaguar Paw and his friends have to run and make it into the jungle while shit is being shot and thrown at them. Jaguar Paw kills Zero Wolf’s son (his son was the “finisher,” kindof like the last defensive player when you’re on your way to a touchdown) and makes it to the jungle, but the bad guys pursue him anyway. I was like “but you said if he made it to Jungle he was free!” Good thing Jaguar Paw didn’t stand around and ask about the rules. That dude ran. . .and fast. ..and a lot.

I have to say this is when the movie gets even more awesome. Jaguar Paw is already a cool guy, but we truly see his badassness in the way he outwits his enemies to return to the family he loves. Awesome stuff. With each kill he gets, Zero Wolf just gets more angry, even the point of killing one of his own men. Zero Wolf will stop at nothing to kill Jaguar Paw and “skin him alive and make him watch me wear it.” I enjoyed seeing Jaguar Paw triumph over his foes who were so relentlessly hunting him.

The ending is pretty intense, with the final fight with that asshole who calls him “Almost”, the rain, and then the scene at the beach. You think Jaguar Paw is free. . .but get to beach and you can say “awww. . .shit. . .now they’re all going to die.” :(
This movie is sad but also an adrenaline rush. It’s like a summer movie (except the action is in context in this film) mixed with a drama. Pretty cool stuff. I recommend it to anyone who likes, well, other humans and their journeys through life. I enjoyed watching Jaguar Paw return to his family. After about two hours of bloodshed and sadness, seeing the family all together again brought a bright smile upon my face.

Now I am just going to talk about the visuals. This movie is beutiful. The lush colors of the jungle, the great big, sprawling city, the mountainsides. . .everything is beautiful. The camerawork was excellent, I thought. Swooping shots and all that jazz. Another excellent thing about this movie is the language. It is not in English (movie kinda woulda been lame if it was), but in some ancient Mayan language. This totally immerses you into the movie. Awesome.

I kept wondering what I would be like in that culture. Or more specifically what I would look like. What would my hair look like? Where would my piercings be? My tattoos? My name? I’ve always wondered what my name would be. . .I kinda want to find out.
So, in conclusion: Good story, good characters, good drama, nice visuals, crazy adventure. . .I want to own this movie.

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Recommendations: (500) Days Of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-03-12 16:32:40 by rammfan518

2010-03-12 16:31:14

Squish
Reviews: 740
Points: 0 (Level 1)
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Apocalypto (2006)

Stop being such a Chichen Itza Genre: Period Action Adventure Drama Starring: Rudy Youngblood, Raoul Trujillo (Scanners II: The New Order • The New World) Directed By: Mel Gibson (The Passion of The Christ • Braveheart ) Overview: During the decline of the Mayan civilization, slavers ravage a Mayan village and bring their captives back to the city. On the way, a diseased girl prophecizes the demise of the slavers and their society at the hand of the man who may very well be one of their slaves. Apocalypto opens with Mayan village hunters in the forest taking down a tapir . This primitive village's life revolves around survival, reproduction and having a good time, be it fire dancing, practical jokes or crazy body modification. Soon the strife hits, and fearsome warriors stalk the village, ready to attack. A gory battle ensues and when it's over, the invaders have taken the surviving villagers as...

(Read More...)

2010-07-28 10:12:54

rammfan518
Reviews: 17
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

Apocalypto [potential spoilers]

(Read More...)

2010-03-12 16:31:14