The Triangle

Issue date: 12/8/06 Section: Entertainment
Originally published: 12/8/06 at 1:07 PM EST
Last update: 12/8/06 at 1:06 PM EST

If there is a proliferation of undue crude humor in Apocalypto's opening scenes - including the members of the village in question engaging references to oral sex, eating tapir testicles and Midnight Cowboy, for some reason - then it only goes further to prove a certain destructive sameness to humanity throughout the ages. So, once a warring village comes by to wreak havoc and kidnap Gibson's first-act villagers as slaves and sacrifices, including protagonist Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), we are merely taken from one crumbling empire to another, one larger in scope, and drowning in decadent prosperity and fear-mongering. Perhaps this all can be seen as a metaphor for "sending guys off to Iraq for no reason," as Mel has stated, but in truth it speaks to a more universal commentary of human conflict, where the scenarios serve to represent a Rome with Huns at the gates, with the identity of the Romans and the Huns constantly juggling. Such is the history of all of humanity. It all implies something along the lines of how we're all on the path to destruction and typically spend our time on that path beating the bejesus out of each other.

But then Gibson's action instincts kick in at about an hour and fifteen minutes, and Jaguar Paw's fight to return to his decimated village becomes an awful survivalist picture; something like Mel Gibson's Predator, with Youngblood as our Arnie and the attacking tribe as the inexorable hunter. Right about here is where the movie inconceivably becomes a popcorn flick demanding that it be taken seriously, even after a bunch of slam-bang action sequences and various nasty jungle traps out of Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," inciting vicarious groans of pains from the audience. It's a completely different beast from the horrific, poignant war scenes that occur earlier in the film, and it very nearly eradicates all of Gibson's work up to that point. Seriously, Mel, why don't you just make Lethal Weapon 5 already and get it out of your system? Until that point, dear audience, you'll have to wait until you get to the part in Apocalypto where the animal kingdom shows up to ruin everyone's day, and the film invokes Dawn of the Dead and Snakes on a Plane, of all things. What a horrible idea.

Because of Apocalypto's inexplicable descent into dully crowd-pleasing territory, Gibson strikes me as a poser, trying to pass himself off as a mad, obsessed filmmaker in the Werner Herzog vein now that The Passion of the Christ (and, uh, yeah, the DUI thing) has forever hindered his ability to re-enter the mainstream. Nevertheless, Apocalypto's themes lead to the road of redemption. I think this is the film where ol' Mel understands that he has a problem and that, jokes about his multiple apologies aside, he very honestly wants to make amends. And if he's willing to change, I'm willing to listen.

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