For his latest bout of cinematic derring-do, director Mel Gibson, Hollywood's ultimate warrior king, goes once more into the breach.
December 9, 2006 (Press Release) --
With the sure-to-polarize "Apocalypto," which he also produced and co-wrote, he exceeds or matches the talking points generated by his controversial "Braveheart" (too violent) and "The Passion of the Christ" (too divisive, among its other alleged sins).
Piling on even more structural stumbling blocks this time, Gibson builds his latest passion play around another Christ figure who sets off on an allegorical adventure involving a lost civilization that speaks an ancient language. Working at an epic scale, with an unknown cast, the director heads out into the heart of darkness, finding societal corruption and gore aplenty: decapitated heads, gruesome disembowelment and humans as juicy animal snacks.
Meanwhile, picking up the ultimate piece of baggage, Gibson becomes a media pariah after his arrest last summer on charges of drunken driving and his subsequent anti-Semitic outburst. Already skeptical, the press starts churning the rumor mill, calling the film "Mel's Folly" or "Gibson's Bungle in the Jungle." Or just merely laughing at the title that could double as the film's own potential review: "Apocalypto."
Can this movie be saved?
Despite the real or perceived sins of its father, "Apocalypto" deserves judgment on its own merits. Mixing elements of his own roles in "Mad Max" and "Braveheart," along with the adrenaline rush of "The Great Escape" and even "The Fugitive," Gibson delivers a non-stop thrill ride that occasionally hits a philosophical speed bump here and there. From the outset, the movie takes its cues from a quote by hallowed American historian Will Durant: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."
From there, "Apocalypto" uses one man's struggle to save his family as a metaphor for the race to preserve civilization itself. Though set during the decline of the Mayan empire, "Apocalypto" intends to draw parallels to the distressed state of the modern Western world.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY LAURA EMERICK
Piling on even more structural stumbling blocks this time, Gibson builds his latest passion play around another Christ figure who sets off on an allegorical adventure involving a lost civilization that speaks an ancient language. Working at an epic scale, with an unknown cast, the director heads out into the heart of darkness, finding societal corruption and gore aplenty: decapitated heads, gruesome disembowelment and humans as juicy animal snacks.
Meanwhile, picking up the ultimate piece of baggage, Gibson becomes a media pariah after his arrest last summer on charges of drunken driving and his subsequent anti-Semitic outburst. Already skeptical, the press starts churning the rumor mill, calling the film "Mel's Folly" or "Gibson's Bungle in the Jungle." Or just merely laughing at the title that could double as the film's own potential review: "Apocalypto."
Can this movie be saved?
Despite the real or perceived sins of its father, "Apocalypto" deserves judgment on its own merits. Mixing elements of his own roles in "Mad Max" and "Braveheart," along with the adrenaline rush of "The Great Escape" and even "The Fugitive," Gibson delivers a non-stop thrill ride that occasionally hits a philosophical speed bump here and there. From the outset, the movie takes its cues from a quote by hallowed American historian Will Durant: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."
From there, "Apocalypto" uses one man's struggle to save his family as a metaphor for the race to preserve civilization itself. Though set during the decline of the Mayan empire, "Apocalypto" intends to draw parallels to the distressed state of the modern Western world.
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY LAURA EMERICK
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