Apocalypto

Well I just finished watching the Mel Gibson’s movie Apocalypto, and I’m somewhat disappointed. Firstly, and regarding some of the positive aspects of the film, the cinematography was outstanding in several of the scenes. Gibson used colouration well, and especially utilised varying light schemes with astonishing artistic craftsmanship. Secondly, some of the characters were developed nicely throughout the movie, especially through their dialogue, albeit brief.

In my opinion, those were the only noticeable positive aspects of the film. The level of gore–while appropriate for the topic and setting of the film–was difficult to watch. Moreover, the detail given to scenes of overt sadism was gut wrenching. For instance, during an initial pillaging scene, several of the women and children were shown being beaten, crying and begging for their lives. Again, while this portrayal was accurate, it also bordered on being unbearable to watch. Lastly, the film seemed to be a microcosmic unfolding of events, yet the immediate reference was vastly unclear. Some might attribute that lack of clarity to in-depth symbolism, but I saw it more as a cover-up for lack of intertwining plot sequences/movements.

Overall, I would say that it was worth a watch, but only one. I give it a 3 out of 10, based on the comments above.

|:| Zach |:|