How could such a great movie have a dumb ending like that??? The Spanish just happened to be landing when jaguar paw is about to be caught? Wtf...maybe it was part of the omen, the coming of the Spaniards..who knows, I thought it was silly. But I'll still rate jt a 10
shareI thought it was a great ending. And yes possibly part of the omen... more doom to come.
shareI thought it was a great ending. And yes possibly part of the omen... more doom to come.
"For the one he takes you to will cancel the sky and scratch out the earth. Scratch you out and end your world."
That part of the prophecy seems to directly refer to the arrival of Europeans, which Jaguar Paw "takes them to".
The eclipse was much more deus ex machina in my opinion. But this movie was all about following the omen where these things were foretold and had to happen.
shareThe movie kicks ass though
shareI feel the Eclipse is actually not a deus ex machine.
Mayans were known for their mastery of calendars right? Who had knowledge of those calendars and the dates? The rich and powerful had knowledge.
The leaders knew the eclipse was coming soon, probably within a few days or so. They simply continued sacrifices until it occurred to demonstrate their massive power. It was all political and crowd control, not religious or supernatural. The executioner smirked as it happened, wasn't awe-struck or surprised. He knew it was coming.
Having foreknowledge that eclipses occur as a normal part of time passage. The "king" looked either drugged or more likely numb from the pointless massacre. The pathetic genocidal corruption his leadership spilled across those stairs to the "gods".
The omen from the little girl is an interesting twist, I think she is more likely the deus ex. Or an example of how gods might truly interact and respond to the sadistic Mayans. A mixture of supernatural and natural events in the story. Adding layers and complexity to what the viewer decides is happening.
I was actually blown away by the ending. I was sitting on the edge of my seat through the whole movie, and with the ending they could even top that. It was fantastic!
shareThe only problem I had with it was the timing of the men in the skifs paddling up right as they chased jaguar to the edge of the forest. But the entire movie had great coincidences.
shareBut it was a fictional story, and the makers didn't even want you to believe that that is what actually happened historically. It was clearly symbolic. Also it put the whole movie in a totally new context; that even though these guys were chasing each other to death, now they will have to face a major change, a possible threat that will effect all of them (regardless of which tribe they belonged to!), and on a much higher scale than anything that had happened to them up until that point. I thought it was one of the most powerful endings I had seen in movies for a long time.
sharetrue, now they will have to team up and fight together to stop the Spaniards. A part 2 would be awesome, but I wont hold my breath.
shareYes, Jaguar Paw can give a great speech as Bill Pullman did in Independence Day to unite all the tribes against the invading alien Spaniards, delivering a crushing blow to send their tall ships scurrying home so the native peoples can henceforth live in peace and harmony!
shareYes, with an inspirational speech from Jaguar a la Bill Pullman in Independence Day, the tribes all unite in the fight against the common alien enemies, and send the tall ships scurrying home, and henceforth live in peace and harmony.
shareThe movie is called Apocalypto for a reason. Apocalypse, the fall of civilization, is certainly what the Spanish brought about when they landed. Totally fitting.
shareI thought the ending was that he remained free - for now: the jungle and the wilds were his friends and protectors but the arrival of the Spanish is an omen of what was to come.
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