Excellent soundtrack, cinematography, visual effects and acting, but a script that could be better.

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2017)

This film is quite intellectual and philosophical and, thus, cannot be seen with the same eyes with which we see mainstream commercial cinema. In my point of view, specialized critics should be the first to take this into account when they're writing but, judging by what has been said about this film, it seems they're paid to speak badly and not to judge fairly. The movie isn't the trash they said, though I didn't like some script options. But it's eminently metaphorical and philosophical character will displease the overwhelming majority of the public, who normally seeks out films of easy digestion, for pure entertainment.
The action happens in three distinct timings, using non-linear narrative to intertwine it through metaphors and linking elements. The pace is purposefully slow, allowing the powerful soundtrack of Clint Mansell to elegantly harmonize with perfect cinematography and astonishing visual effects. That may seem surprising given the relatively modest budget with which everything has been achieved. The work of Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz is absolutely impeccable, particularly his.
Now let's go to the script. This is the point where, for me, the film is less interesting. Addressing very complex issues from a philosophical and existential perspective (transcendentality, mortality, what is beyond death, our relationship with the Sacred etc.), it raises a series of questions that never answers in order to let each viewer think. But truth is the film points the way to the answer, as if it wanted to do it but didn't have the guts. This gave me a sense of dissatisfaction, of absence of closure. Then there are small details in which the script clearly makes beginner mistakes, such as putting the Maya alive and well during the arrival of the Conquistadors, when we know that the Mayan civilization disappeared before the year Thousand of the Christian era, five hundred years before Columbus. I know it's a minor detail, but as a historian I don't like to see things like this.