Both recently released on DVD. I’ve wanted to review Apocalypto for awhile but couldn’t find the right angle until watching Seraphim Falls. Both films contain sequences where a group of men hunt another man down.In Seraphim Falls, shortly after the Civil War, former Union officer Pierce Brosnan is relentlessly followed by former Confederate Liam Neeson and a posse he is paying. You are drawn immediately into the action in a beautiful snowy sequence in the Rocky Mountains. Brosnan will go on to kill off the posse, one by one. Flashbacks will eventually inform why Neeson is so persistent and hell-bent on revenge despite bad luck and changing odds. The two Irishmen give good performances with respectable American accents. Brosnan continues his strong post-James Bond string of good performances (especially in The Matador).
But the movie gets bogged down in too much symbolism near the end when the Faust plot, magical potions and even more magical Indians make appearances. Furthermore, the event that occurred between the rivals years earlier is both horrific and overly depressing. I felt guilty for not caring more, but zero time was spent with those victims. In the end, the movie is convinced that there are no heroes or villains, but all men are good and bad simultaneously. That clichéd message as well as the lack of character development left me disappointed. C
Apocalypto has a straightforward narrative and takes time developing husband-wife, father-son, and brother-brother relationships. The weakest part occurs early on, as fart jokes and phallic jokes try to make modern-day Americans relate to the Mayan world. Director Mel Gibson seems to be slumming for the first 20 minutes. But strong family connections that will pay off later are formed during this time. Then, the group of peaceful Mayans are attacked and the male population is taken captive so they can be sacrificed. Women are sold into slavery and children are left to fend for themselves.Unlike Seraphim Falls, there are definitely good guys and bad guys in Apocalypto and this gives you a vested interest in the outcome, ultimately drawing you in. The last third of the movie has the protagonist (Rudy Youngblood) being pursued by a posse. Like Brosnan, he begins to creatively kill them off one by one. But Gibson has spent quality time setting up character, props, and plot points – and they all pay off. B+
Medical mistake: Well, at least the sacrificial victims in Apocalypto didn’t live quite as long as they did in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when their hearts were cut out. Oh, by the way, it’s kind of violent.
1 comment:
Apocalypto was a B+ for me as well. It's too bad Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks overshadowed this one. The picture of a society rotting from its excesses is almost science fiction in its themes, but setting it in the past gives the warning he's firing at the U.S. much more urgency. Plus, the final 1/3 is a primer on how to make action sequences that thrill.
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