Apocalypto review

 Number 497 on the top 1000 films of all time is Mel Gibson's epic action-adventure Apocalypto.

Set during the Mayan empire with the dialogue being entirely in Yucatan, Apocalypto focusses on Jaguar Paw (Rudy Yungblood.) Jaguar Paw is the son of a tribal chieftain and is married to his wife Seven (Dalia Hernandez) and they have their own son Turtles Run. All is looking well until they are attacked by a rival tribe who capture Jaguar Paw and the other males who kidnap them to become human sacrifices.

Firstly, let me say the cinematography was beautiful. Every shot was gorgeous and conveyed the true splendour of Veracruz where the film was shot. We sat the vibrant green of the forest and the rich colours of the sunset. The Eyipantla waterfalls looked spectacular.

Part of that was down to Gibson's choice to write the dialogue in Yucatan. He thought it would create a more immersive world for the viewer, emphasise the visuals, as well as adding more historical accuracy. Although Gibson has received plenty of criticism for his historical accuracy or lack thereof. But at the end of the day this is Mel Gibson we're talking about. He made Braveheart - a brilliant film that is definitely more fiction than fact. You should know you're looking for if you're watching a Mel Gibson film.

I also loved the music. Rather than using a contemporary soundtrack, all the music was period specific with traditional singing and instrumentation - or what sounded authentic to me, at least. This added another layer of realism and ramped up the dramatic tension.

Having said that, the film is far from perfect. Of the two halves, I much preferred the first half, because it felt like we were going somewhere. The stakes were high and so was the dramatic tension. We get our scene-setting showing the close-knit community of Jaguar Paw's tribe. This peace is shattered by a group of marauders who sell the women into sex slavery and take the men to be sacrificed. This was tense as I was wondering how Jaguar Paw would get out of this. Fortunately, an eclipse disturbs proceedings and instead Jaguar Paw and the others are allowed to run to freedom.

I say allow as the marauders are playing a cruel game by using the escaping captives as target practice. Jaguar Paw is the only one who escapes alive and he is pursued by his captors. The second half of the film descends into a chase sequence. We see Jaguar Paw use his skill and strength to outwit the hunters, as well as a jaguar and a snake who appear at just the right moment. This would have been fun to watch if it had only gone for ten or fifteen minutes rather than a whole hour. I kept wondering where this was heading and what the next obstacle would be. But instead it was an extended chase sequence. And that did kill some of the dramatic tension.

However, this was all part of Gibson's vision. He wanted to take the traditional chase sequence, strip out all the glitz and glamour and reduce it to its most primal core. I get that, but he over did it. The excess slow-motion did nothing to help things either.

Although this was a technically beautiful film, the storyline does fall apart in the second half. But if you can get past that, it's well worth a watch.