Apocalypto (2006)
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i probably had too high of expectations for this and was pretty disappointed. the makeup, costumes, setting, and just ambitiousness of the whole thing was enough for me to enjoy it. some of the actors i think struggled with the language, the cgi was pretty bad in spots -as was the panther, and i didn’t like how the hd cams looked whipping around the jungle. the fireside talk at the beginning and the prophecy girl were pretty cliched and set things up too perfectly. but my real issue was that it was just an action movie, and such a ridiculous one at that. his wife’s in a hole for, what 2 weeks? and he runs non-stop for however many days with a couple arrows in him and outruns a gd panther. it was such a unique setting they could have dialed everything back and still had an exciting movie. the sacrifice scene alone was so great they didn’t need much more.
i think my big problem was that i liked passion so much cause it was more about the ordeal and its mechanics and not about the story. i expected the same here, but this was all about drama and making us really really want for him to reunite with his family.
oh and i flat out hated the score. all the indeterminate ‘exotic’ sounds and instruments and voices were just corny. either a traditional score or a crazy score would have been great. when he starts running away from the ‘run across the sandy strip while we shoot you’ game they use some kind of clanging pipes as the percussion and it was really good. then they go straight back to the pan flute and ruin it.
oh, and the gee-whiz fire ants part reminded me vaguely of in passion when jesus invents the modern table and chair system. that scene made me laugh.
