Apocalypto DVD Review

Apocalypto, the sensational action-drama from Mel Gibson, is coming to DVD on Tuesday, and I've grabbed an advance copy for your reviewing pleasure... or is it for my reviewing pleasure. Either way, Apocalypto did pretty decently at movie theaters considering it was directed by Mel Gibson, who has not exactly been Mr. Popular over the last year or two. Despite what you think of the man, he makes some incredibly exciting movies, and Apocalypto is no different. You can read my full Apocalypto movie review here.

As for the DVD, it's pretty lame. You can just smell a "Special 2-Disc Edition" looming in the darkness, just waiting for the right time, because this version is pretty slim on the special features. It does include an audio commentary by Mel Gibson, which is quite enjoyable, but it only has two other features, a single, 10-second deleted scene, which is actually pretty cool but still not worth the trouble of clicking on the play button, and a making-of featurette, which was clearing created before the movie was released to theaters and is intended for promotional use only. Whenever the interviews include "this film will..." you know they were made to promote the movie, not give us insight into it, and the interviews also contain quite a few "you're going to see things you've never seen before." Boring!

The behind-the-scenes featurette does have a few bits and pieces that are interesting, but for the most part, it's just disappointing and a waste of time.

Overall, Apocalypto DVD leaves little to be desired, but if you haven't seen the movie, it is certainly a recommended purchase/rental nonetheless.

Payback: Director's Cut DVD Review

Apparently, the version of Mel Gibson's Payback that came out way back in 1999 was not the originally planned version as intended by director Brian Helgeland. Helgeland walked away from the project and up to 30% of the movie was re-shot. The whole third act was changed, and a new main villain was added (Kris Kristofferson).

Now, on April 10th, 2007, the version everyone has been dying to see is on DVD: The Straight Up Director's Cut. Okay, to be perfectly honest, who was waiting to see this? The movie wasn't that good to begin with, and director's cuts of mediocre movies generally aren't that much better.

And since it's been eight years since I last saw Payback, I really don't remember what's changed. All I remember is that I wasn't overly crazy about the original, and I'm not overly crazy about this new director's cut. It's still sort of boring and not nearly as action-packed or as funny (in a dark way) I was hoping it to be.

You can read my full Payback director's cut movie review here.