mel gibson's APOCALYPTO (2006)

if a filmmaker's worth is defined by the choices he makes, Mel Gibson isn't a particularly good filmmaker. Apocalypto is a gorgeous, exotic, occasionally thrilling film, but it's also disappointing in nearly every way. Gibson's main transgressions against his thoughtful material seem to be rooted in obvious overshooting; the financial and practical viability of DV (here repeatedly worked against its limitiations, particularly shots of men running, of which there is a wealth) seem to have liberated mel from nuisances like storyboarding and script-tightening, resulting in astonishing laziness under the guise of detached naturalism. most of this, of course, could have (and should have) been fixed in the cutting room, but the editing spitefully highlights these shortcomings, particularly in the film's first third. most interestingly, though the film is indeed gory, many scenes of violence are curiously muted; the marauding of Jaguar Paw's village, for instance, seems to repeatedly pull its punches, and this unsatisfactory intensity of violence castrates what should be a psychologically and emotionally horrifying setpiece.

all that said, there's a lot of good things in the film. the opening scenes do an admirable job of characterizing and contextualizing Jaguar Paw's tribe as exotic everymen, and the acclimation to the film's unabashed (though still beautiful) DV is cushioned by a feeling of ethnographic realism. this attention to characterization continues throughout the film, and is very crucially the one facet of the storytelling in which Gibson never really falters. the design of the production is also nearly flawless; while gibson does resist certain Epic flourishes that could have strengthened the film, the costumes, makeup and art direction (especially in the surprisingly brief visit to the Mayan metropolis) very believablly help depict the folly of empire and a civilization in decline.

in the end, though...frustrating. the errors in judgment, from the haphazard, amateurish stylistic decisions to the inevitable deus ex machina that ends the almost-astounding chase of the film's final third, flaw the movie beyond redemption, turning what could have easily been a triumph into a hubris-laced also-ran B flick.