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Apocalypto demonstrates two things: that Mel Gibson is a hell of a filmmaker and that his imaginative world borders on the Neanderthal.
As a piece of filmmaking it's certainly strong enough to restore his commercial viability. Whether that's to the good is another question entirely.
[Gibson] has learned how to tell a tale, and to raise a pulse in the telling. You have to admire that basic gift, uncommon as it is in Hollywood these days, though equally you have to ask what obsessions goad it on.
Mel Gibson is a real artist as a director.
It's unlike any other movie to reach theaters this year and, because it is as visual an experience as it is visceral, it is best seen on a large screen.
None of us can completely resist the spectacle of a disturbed guy -- who used to just be a movie star -- projecting his own violent fantasies in public and repeatedly enacting his own crucifixion. Let's not pretend there's anything healthy about it.
Ignore Apocalypto's symbolic hubbub and instead view it for Gibson's perverse sense of entertainment. His passionate spectacle of human destruction and doom packs a terrific visceral punch.
Shot with digital camera on location in Mexico, Mel Gibson has created a visually stunning action/adventure epic that although has divided many with its historical accuracy, has spared no expense in bringing life to a world before European colonization.
All in all Apocalypto is probably Gibson's best film to date, because it's almost free of any of Hollywood's tainting.
Mel Gibson follows up "The Passion of the Christ," his entrée into directing schlock B-move horror films with high production values, with an even more gory study into bodily torture and death.
The middle of the film, though, finds Gibson at his sadistic best, depicting monumental savagery with a surreal cinematic glee that puts the Apocalypse in Apocalypto.
The bloody end of a civilization. Not for kids.
I won't say Gibson is a rebel who thinks outside the box, as was witnessed by "Passion of the Christ," but the man can direct an excellent visually spectacular action thriller...
Even if you ignore the broader implied messages, "Apocalypto" still works well on the level of a historical action-drama.
What this thing turns out to be is a skimpy action flick.
If you can get past Mr. Gibson's public persona, Apocalypto is a good, solid action movie.
Apocalypto is a very ambitious movie, but not because of the weapons
Any Gibson-haters hoping to see the heart ripped out of his success may well find themselves disappointed by Apocalypto's relative merits.
Apocalypto is a strange but largely entertaining mix of action, bloodletting, chin-rubbing and arthouse trimmings.
... a gripping, adrenaline-pounding, old-fashioned adventure epic with modern tools and a craftsman's eye for image, drama and primal emotion.
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