In my mind, Mel Gibson is a genius. Move over Steven Spielberg.
For some reason I imagined Apocalypto to be about Gods. So I thought I'd be seeing Gods. Don't ask me where I got the idea, but from what I'd read about the movie (seemingly very little) I got a sense that the movie was about one man fighting for the survival of humankind. Fighting the Gods themselves actually.
Perhaps that's an idea for another movie.
Apocalypto was long but absolutely brilliant.I mean apart from some of the camera shots that made the movie look cheap...specifically when the characters were running - just didn't work for me. They tried to make it look like the characters we moving at exceptionally high speed, so effectively to the viewer it looked like say - what a camera would capture when trying to take a picture in a fast moving vehicle. A blurred shot that looks like it's in motion.
Anyhow, I thought the acting was just brilliant.I think I'm tired of seeing the typical Hollywood movie, with the typical Hollywood stars...it's just boring. It's nice to see some new faces.
The lead, Rudy Youngblood, who plays jaguar paw (pictured above), is fascinating to watch.
Even though you kinda know what's going to happen pretty much throughout the movie, from the moment another Mayan (by the way this movie is based on the Mayan civilization) from another far away village passes through jaguar paw's village says 'our village was ravaged. We are looking for new beginning' - it's still great entertainment.
Don't want to spoil it for you...so I won't go into detail really. But go watch it. Watched it with the lover this evening and he reckons there will definitely be a sequel.
6 comments:
I am still trying to make up my mind about Mel Gibson. Not sure if he is just into shock-horror or if he has motive for these shock-horror type movies.
I will go watch when I get a chance but Mel still needs to prove himself to me.
Did you nto like braveheart?
Wellllll, it was okay, Not my cup of tea. I also watched the Patriot and I got a little, misty. That's the thing though, he does these movies and they are okay and all but... I just need him to convince me more.
I suppose after the pasion of the christ I just questioned his motives. It was just too horrible.
It must be one of the hardest things to relay reality in a movie. What I mean is to portray a man (or woman) being shot on the make believe screen is much harder than if you were to capture the real thing, for instance the S. Leone footage that was flighted a long time ago on Special Assignment. Mel has a way of making you cringe (like ish wont come out) and capturing that reality to the point where it grinds your ear nipples.
He knows how to make you listen.
I hope i wont have to miss Apocalypto!
True about Mel, he gets real.
Most people won't like that, I love it.
That sounds a bit sick don't it...The departed didn't make me believe, especially at the end when everybody just freakin dies.
Mel G makes me believe.
Saw it yesterday on DVD and I have to say, I was impressed. Really good. As you can see, I struggle to give Mel an enthusiastic compliment. I don't know why. I must stil make up mind about him.
The movie was great in its simplicity. In its (yet again) hollywood way of telling a story, simple so that you can appeal to the greatest number of people. I doubt that the Mayan culture could be so easily deciphered. I understand that there are universal issues and the collective unconscious. We all ultimately are after the same things, whether you are in china of Hillbrow, etc. But, surely, it is not that straight forward. Watch an episode of 'Tribe' and maybe get a glimpse of ancient cultures and a glimpse of its complexities.
It was a good movie and just because there are subtitles does not mean there are levels of complexity that are lost in translation. It is a straight forward flick that was very well made but reveals nothing new really.
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