Customer Reviews:
Well Worth Watching.......2007-11-30
I had my doubts about seeing this movie because I had heard it was so bloody and violent, but after watching it, I am glad I did. Many other reviewers have described the movie, so I won't bore you with that, I'll just offer some general impressions.
The opening scenes are designed, I think, to engage the sympathy of the viewer for the forest tribe. While it might be difficult for many people to feel sympathy for pre-Colombian natives who are violent and even savage, I think Gibson did a good job on this part. We accompany the men on a hunt, see that they engage in typical "male bonding" behavior, see that they have mother-in-law problems, love and cherish their children, and so on.
More than that, during the hunting scene, we see something else: a warning given that was ignored, shoved under the rug. Had that warning of fear been heeded, preparations made to resist the impending terror, there might have been less destruction. That's a good object lesson for us even today.
The scenes of the Mayan city were especially helpful to me. I have been to Mexico and have studied Mayan ruins first hand. They left me feeling very disturbed; I could NOT imagine what kind of culture would create such savage and even ugly art. I don't mean ugly in the sense that it was badly done, not that at all. But the "soul" revealed in Mayan art is truly horrifying.
Mel Gibson gave this art a background for me that finally helped me to make sense of it.
I noticed something else: all the savagery, body pierciings, horrible and ugly hairdos of the women, and the general behavior of the culture reminded me of U.S. society over the past 10 years or so. I know that seems a bit over-the-top, but I have never been able to understand why attractive people would go so far out of their way to make themselves ugly with hair that looks like its been cut with a dull lawnmower, body piercings, wearing clothes that look like slave gear or rejects from a concentration camp, and so on. It's just bizarre. (And I won't even go into what passes as art these days, much less music!)
When you take those things in the context of what has happened to the U.S. since 9-11, and you compare it to the society depicted in this movie, there are unnerving parallels. I even think that Gibson intended the movie to reflect the U.S. in it's decline. At the beginning of the movie, he quotes Ariel Durant who wrote:
"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."
As the movie came to the end, I was glad that Gibson didn't use it as a cheesy add for his religious agenda...
It was beautifully photographed, with fantastic sets and I have to say that the violence was not gratuitous: that's just how things were then and to have made the movie otherwise would have been cheating.
Well worth watching; I'm glad I did.
Dramatization of Mayan Decline.......2007-10-06
Here you can see Gibson's vision of the Mayan kingdom as it faces its decline, the rulers insist the key to prosperity is to build more temples and offer human sacrifices. Jaguar Paw is a young man who is captured for sacrifice, but flees to avoid his fate. He is taken on a perilous journey to a world that is ruled by fear and oppression, where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life. Though the film has historical inaccuracies, it does show the behavior that caused its decline. This movie is fast paced, but be aware it has violent scenes.
YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM! ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! ATMOSPHERIC AND DEEP!.......2007-08-13
well this will be the second time writing a review for this film, for some reason my first review was never posted. >:|
not really a fan of Mel Gibson's past efforts, i have to say after watching this film i realize the guy is a movie genius! i might even re-visit some of his previous works.
Apocalypto transports us back in time to the Mayan period, and what a fine job it does, from the start i felt as if i was there the whole time, which may sound weird, but mentally i was there! something reached out and pulled me in from the word go, (promise it wasn't nothing to do with "Rudy Youngblood" running around 'butt' naked!) my emotions were reeling!
the first half of the film builds up on the suspense, curiosity steepens second by second, nothing is explained, but that's a good thing, all you want to know is where they are being taken, and more importantly, why?
my imagination was free to run wild, but nothing prepares you for what is in store!
the second half of the film delivers amazing intensity from start to finish, i have never felt so much tension from a chase scene, and elevating excitement as the prophecy's start to come true, truly edge of the seat stuff!
it's not long before Jaguar paw stops running with fear, (the moment we were waiting for!) in seeps the realization that this is HIS forest! and the fun really starts!this brings about a whole new level of thrills and you can't help but cheer him on at every turn, relieved each time he makes it.
YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM! ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! ATMOSPHERIC AND DEEP!
oh and the sub-titles make it even more authentic and believable!
Customer Reviews:
Surprisingly captivating.......2007-10-25
This film is one that I was very much looking forward to seeing, and hence my expectations were high. There is much in the film to be critical of, which I will go into in a little more detail below, but nonetheless it is a strangely and surprisingly captivating story. It is certainly one of the few films of today that you could show to anyone knowing that there is nothing in it to offend them.
First of all I want to address the issue of historical, and for that matter geographical, accuracy. It is virtually complete fiction, and if you can accept that then the film is all the more enjoyable. My biggest annoyance with the film is the Barbarian attack on the Roman 'fort', supposedly on Hadrian's Wall. Based on the angle of the wall going down from the fort it seems likely to me that this is supposed to be Housesteads, but if it is the CGI reconstuction is woefully inaccurate. Even worse than that though is the fact that the Barbarians from 'down south' are attacking from the North of the wall! I think not - for one its the wrong direction, but secondly tactically it would make no sense whatsoever. It would be much easier to attack from the South than the North, assuming that the military zone to the South of the wall had fallen into disrepair and disuse, as the film would seem to suggest.
Next comes the story line. It is rather weak and predictable, and as I understand, not faithful to the novel by the same name. I know that this is a 12 or PG-13 rated film, but even so the lack of blood in any of the fighting is disappointing and highly unrealistic.
Then finally comes the acting. The lead adult characters all do a reasonable job, though none of them are exactly outstanding. The child playing the young emperor is rather wooden, which is a shame in this day and age when we have promising young actors and actresses coming through the ranks (such as Dakota Fanning).
All in all, the film could have been much better, but in its own inexlicable way it is oddly endearing too.
Before King Arthur, there was Excalibur..........2007-10-20
I was expecting a good film when I saw The Last Legion, and it certainly didn't disappoint. In my opinion it hasn't been promoted enough, hence the reason why there were hardly any people in the cinema today watching it, and most were going to see 'Stardust' which has been heavily marketed. Everyone is missing out, this is one hell of a film.
The film is well cast, with the great Ben Kingsley who plays Keeper Of The Sword (and also a legendary character - you'll have to see it to find out who, or you might be able to guess!). Also it stars other actors such as Thomas Sangster (a great young actor) who plays Romulus Augustus (aka the last of the Caesar bloodline), the young Caesar. Colin Firth plays Aurelius, a Roman General and young Caesar' protector. There are also other well known faces in the film such as Aishwarya Rai (Bollywood actress) who plays Mira.
I'm not giving anything away on the actual storyline, you'll have to go and see it to find out. If you like films based on history and legends then this film is for you.
The last legion.. the book.......2007-09-11
The movie is due out this week here in Italy, but I read the book it was taken from and it was great! I have read other books connected with the Arthurian legend and I found this very good. I am not a great fan of Italian writers but Valerio Massimo Marini can write great historical fiction. I would avise anyone to try and read his books.. I am sure other great movies will come out of them.
Better than expectations.........2007-09-06
Didn't know much about the film before watching it other than the possible slight cheesiness of the storyline, but it's a well set film with very good locations, costumes and so on giving a realistic roman viewing experience. The only downsides are some of the fighting scenes are a little unadventurous (2 hits and there down sort of thing) and seems to have a very small cast for most the film especially for a film that spans across so many roman locations in what would be a big roman advent. But why do they have to always have a love story and a big speech takes up so much screen time.
FANTASTIC FUN.......2007-07-24
Ben Kingsley is nails. As good as 300. If you're into Roman Dramas you will love this. Cool magic
Customer Reviews:
airean.......2007-10-01
such an awesome film. amazing action and one of the only decent films out this years apart from pathfinder.lots of blood, gore and fricken ninja's the only thing i would complain about is that there were some parts that were a little on the lord of the rings side but if something is good why change it so buy this film and pathfinder and your set for the rest of the year :)
Best Film Of 2007!.......2007-09-23
What a film, as soon as I watched this I was in awe at the fact that I hadn't went to see this in the cinema and I was so glad I got it on blu-ray, wow what a film.
Not Too Shaby - but flawed.......2007-09-20
Two things that you MUST take into account when choosing to watch this film, or indeed review it, is the nature of the material the film came from. Whilst historically inaccurate in parts (and a little lopsided to say the least with regards to the portrayal of the Persians) this film comes from Frank Millar (of Sin City fame) a major figure in graphic novels. This film, as with Sin City, is mearly a copy of the book bearing the same name!!!
I will admit that i enjoyed it, but i felt let down slightly by the dialogue, which again comes from the graphic novel (in the most part) - and seems to follow a tight series of phrases as one would expect from a graphic novel. However, I din't watch this film expecting Shakespeare, this a Melodrama.
Please take the film for what it is - a macho film that shows great herosim with some stunning camera work and some great visual affects.
Directorial Immaturity!.......2007-09-18
300 is an example of a Director so obsessed with the technical aspects of the film that he forgets the most important ingredient, that of the performances.
The acting in the film is dire. Lena Headey is appallingly bad as the Queen. Her diction and enunciation are so poor that Drama Teachers of yesteryear must be turning in their graves. Her listless interpretation could hardly have been less regal.
Gerard Butler and his six-pack cohorts all look good but to a man their performances are all poorly developed and flaccid.
The Directorial immaturity on display here is a microcosm of what is happening in Hollywood today. Young Directors in love with Technical craft seem unaware of the Actor and his/her all important performance. Just by listening to the child-like commentary by Zack Snyder gives the game away. He talks endlessly about the effects, when the set ends and the green screen begins, how long it took an actor to get made-up but nothing about his direction or the actor's performance. This is simply because he understands neither.
The Computer Generated Effects, which Zack holds in such high regard, are pretty poor in the early scenes. The wolf is so badly done that it allows the effects that follow to appear impressive.
This only goes to show that the Actor and his/her performance is still the most important aspect of any film and however much icing is poured onto the final negative.
The Epic Cinema Experience.......2007-08-22
I'm not going to rate the film, that's been done to death everywhere else. What I'm going to do is rate the High-Def experience you'll be getting:
Visual: 300 visually is a stunning film. The 'crushing' technique is akin to the graphic-novel counterpart and really sets the atmosphere beautifully. I know very well that such a harsh technique will not appeal to everyone but I will say that without it the film would be left a little lackluster. Moving on to the real High Definition detail: 300 is definitely not the most detailed blu-ray film around; it certainly doesn't show off the true potential of a blu-ray disc (this is more due to the post processing of the film than anything else) but it still looks crisp, vibrant and very detailed. And if I instilled doubt in anyone reading this then please, ignore it. The film looks breathtaking and definitely deserves a 4/5 for visuals alone.
Audio: Deep, clear, haunting and definitely the best audio experience I've had in a while. 5.1 surround sound really immerses you in the experience and makes you feel you are there in the middle of the action. All I need is a red cape and I'm good to go! ;)
Features: I keep reading that blu-ray movies have no extra features or something..I won't go into it but if that's a doubt for anyone here, then drop it immediately. There is a ton of extra features that include deleted scenes, cast and crew interviews, directors commentaries, webisodes (short behind the scenes videos covering everything from makeup and costume design to how the 300 got such buff bodies) and more. The extra features alone would give this film a 5/5.
In conclusion, 300 is definitely a film to add to your blu-ray film collection. Visually stunning with incredible audio to match, and a host of extra features to give die-hard fans a second helping of possibly the greatest action film ever! I'm going to confirm what everyone is saying; 300 is region ABC or regionless (whichever you prefer) and WILL run on UK PS3s. Enjoy!
DVD Review:
- Emmanuelle's Intimate Encounters [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [HD DVD] [2004] [US Import]
- Fantastic Planet [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Farscape 3.2 [1999]
- Fat Albert [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Fist of the North Star [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Freaky Friday [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Galaxy Of The Dinosaurs
- Gattaca --Superbit [1998]
- G-Men From Hell [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
DVD Review List
DVD Review
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