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Apoca-so-so Favorite Movie Quote: "Almost." When I think about Apocalypto, the only reason that I considered going to see it - and ultimately watched it - was because it was directed by Mel Gibson. Gibson, despite the negative overreation he's received for being a flawed human being, is now very well known for The Passion of the Christ, a film that -even as an athiest - I found to be powerful and respected its purpose. Would that I felt the same way about Apocalypto, but perhaps that's too much to ask. Before the movie even starts, it tells us what to expect with a quote about how before a culture can be destroyed from without it must first be destroyed from within. What follows is a series of events mirrorred throughout history where those who are content to live simply are conquered and subjugated to the whim of those in power. Our protagonist, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) struggles to escape, survive, and rescue what's left of his tribe and family. In my way of thinking, Apocalypto offers no real proof that the opening quote applies and, in fact, seems to offer contradictory evidence. Though it seems the society being presented - Incas is my uneducated guess - is undeniably decadent, the ending illustrates that it may have made little difference in the long run. Furthermore, Apocalypto is what I've come to start calling a "pinball movie" where the protagonist isn't so much making decisions as being bounced from calamity to calamity. By the time out protagonist finally does make a decision, it's really a no-brainer; a choice between obvious certain death and what's behind door number two is a pretty easy call (even if Jaguar Paw passed the first time he's presented with this same basic decision). Still, once the decision is made, the film picks up through the ending. Apocalypto isn't a bad movie, but it isn't an especially interesting one either, having a good beginning and end but lacking an engaging mid-section. It also presents strange mystical elements (prophecy-spouting plague-kid) that are not in keeping with the rest of the film's stark, brutal reality. However, I do appreciate that Gibson is pushing films strange, different, and thought-provoking and look forward to his next opus. Who'd have thought that Gibson would be twice as good a director than he was an actor? email this review to a friend
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