R.I.P. Mel Gibson
By: John Devore
Tags: Pop Culture, Film, Race, Masculinity, Movies

Photo: Lionsgate

R.I.P. Mel Gibson

The controversial actor stars in a new low-budget movie that is both offensive and boring

I watched the new, low-budget direct-to-video action movie Force of Nature so you don’t have to. That’s called “service journalism.”

Force of Nature is about a pair of San Juan cops who take on thieves looking for $55 million hidden inside a building evacuated because of Hurricane Maria. I know that’s a lot to unpack but wait, there’s more: the movie features Kate Bosworth, who is a pretty good actor. She was especially memorable as Lois Lane in Superman Returns. She co-stars with Emile Hirsch, who starred in Speed Racer, which is the Wachowski sisters’ third best movie after the original Matrix and Jupiter Ascending.

Oh, Force of Nature also stars 64-year-old Mel Gibson, a celebrity who has been “canceled” multiple times for reportedly making antisemitic and sexist remarks, including a recent accusation from Winona Ryder that Gibson once asked her if she was an “oven dodger,” which was an offensive reference to the Holocaust.

Gibson is sort of a pioneer of famous people with a reputation for saying fucked up things. In 2006 he accused Jews of being responsible for all world wars, among other antisemitic rants, to police officers during a DUI arrest. There are also the leaked voicemails he left an ex-girlfriend in 2010 where he allegedly used the N-word and threatened violence.

Because of Ryder’s revelations, Netflix has dropped Gibson from a lead role in a sequel to the animated classic Chicken Run from 2000. Gibson has responded, calling Ryder’s story “100% untrue.”

I suppose it’s amazing Mel Gibson has worked at all but according to IMDb, he’s starred in almost fourteen movies since 2010. He has three more coming out this year alone. I actually don’t know which is worse, though: exile or movies like Force of Nature.

The movie is cheap. The majority of the movie takes place in a single, nondescript building. The scenes that take place outside during the hurricane all look like they were filmed while an intern sprayed the set with a garden hose. Most of the action shots are our heroes dramatically running down halls, with guns drawn.

I know the early buzz was that Force of Nature was racist. It’s not racially sensitive, that’s for sure. There’s not a lot of respect for the Spanish language. The main villain is a cartoonish “bad hombre,” emphasis on the “hombre” part.

Two sidekicks are people of color but the main characters are three white people, including a politically-correct old ex-cop (guess who plays that part?) But Force of Nature is too lazy to be overtly racist. Mostly, it’s just thoughtless.

Hurricane Maria was a catastrophe that killed 2,975 American citizens. The mainland’s attention turned from that troubled island long ago but it still struggles. The Force of Nature filmmakers doesn’t care. They basically made a movie about a group of high-tech burglars who look out their windows on the morning of September 11th, 2001, and go “time to rob a bank!”

It’s ghoulish to use Hurricane Maria as a backdrop for a mediocre heist flick. But even if they had invented a fake storm instead of exploiting a very real, very human tragedy, the filmmakers would still have an unoriginal low-budget movie whose biggest star is a celebrity who, it seems, can’t control his mouth.

There’s a part of me that sympathizes with Gibson, though. First, as a recovering alcoholic, I will always feel for people who struggle with drinking. After his run-in with the law, Gibson went to rehab and has been open about his subsequent sobriety. I sympathize but I’m not excusing him.

I don’t want to be accused of defending Gibson, so I’ll write that again: alcoholism isn’t a “get out of jail” card. It doesn’t protect you from suffering the consequences of your actions. I am responsible for my words and actions, drunk or sober. He is responsible for his words and actions, drunk or sober. But I feel for people who fill the empty space inside with booze and fear and hate. Abusers are people, which is the hardest thing to learn about them.

There are alcoholics who never spew racist slurs and there are plenty of rich and poor white men who loudly share their prejudices in private, and in public, completely clear-headed. So I also sympathize with white men, in general. We just don’t know when to shut up and listen, do we fellas?

It’s too bad, really. Mel Gibson was, once upon a time, a wonderful movie star. As iconic post-apocalyptic wanderer Mad Max or sensitive maniac cop Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapons movies, Gibson was unique: a vulnerable action star. Steve McQueen with trembling eyes. He was not a musclebound human bulldozer like Schwarzenegger, and other ’80s big-screen bruisers. Gibson was a sensitive badass.

What a talent. What a waste. I was a huge fan myself.

All of his movie characters are funny and charming and wore their hearts on their sleeves. From M. Night Shyamalan’s alien invasion movie Signs to the 90s thriller Conspiracy Theory costarring Julia Roberts, Gibson is magnetic. His historical action movie Braveheart became an instant classic among men — an entire generation loves to quote his pre-battle speech. He won the Best Picture Oscar for that movie.

I don’t think he has ever been boring in a movie. In real life, however, his well-known tirades are radioactive.

As a director, The Passion of the Christ, his gory retelling of Jesus’ final hours, is a cult classic. It’s a religious torture porn movie. I remember going to see it alone and during a bloody scene where Roman soldiers almost whip Jesus to death, I covered my face in shock and shouted “Jesus Christ!” A woman in the row in front of me then turned around and respectfully responded “Hallelujah.” It’s a deeply affecting movie, regardless of whether you are a believer or not.

He also directed the highly underrated action movie Apocalypto about a young Mayan hunter who has to escape being sacrificed and make it back to his family. It’s a harrowing and gruesome look at a dying civilization.

Mel Gibson was never the greatest actor of his generation. He’s not Daniel Day-Lewis. He was a movie star.

In 2016, Hacksaw Ridge saw the 2016 Academy Awards attempt to re-embrace Gibson, who had directed an excellent, if ultraviolent, war movie. But ultimately, it must be accepted that Gibson is, apparently, more committed to his self-destruction than his career.

Gibson has influenced untold numbers of young actors. He was so influential, Emile Hirsch performs a sort of tribute to him in Force of Nature. Hirsch’s haunted cop puts a gun in his mouth the way Gibson’s Lethal Weapon character does. The moment is meant to stress the character is dangerous — -to others and himself. That scene aside, Hirsch is also a celebrity with his own problematic past — the actor attacked a female studio executive and served time for felony assault in 2015.

Mel Gibson was never the greatest actor of his generation. He’s not Daniel Day-Lewis. He was a movie star. He has natural charisma. The camera loves him. For many years, audiences loved him. Unfortunately, he spoiled the fantasy for millions, including me, I suppose. Movie stars, and actors, are magicians. They sell an illusion. Once his fans learned Mel Gibson was a troubled man with a lot of rage in his heart the on-screen Mel Gibson lost his charm.

I wanted to review Force of Nature, but it’s not much of a movie. I admit I watched it to see if it was as racist as many suggested it was but the truth is I watched it to see if Mel Gibson still that X factor. The man can still act but it looks like his days are finally numbered, especially after the most recent revelation. I don’t think it will be his last.

I don’t know if Gibson has asked the people in his life he’s hurt if they could forgive him or not. I know, from personal experience, it’s hard to live an honest life without at least asking for forgiveness, regardless of whether the person forgives you or not. It doesn’t matter if the people you hurt ever forgive you. What’s important is that you ask because you know you did wrong.

It makes me sad that an actor whose movies I enjoyed so much is a victim of his own demons.

I don’t know Gibson personally, of course. A celebrity is a human being who has been commodified — turned into a product. Those of us who are not celebrities consume the famous, like snack cakes. For all I know, Gibson has asked for forgiveness. He could be a good person. You don’t know, either. But Mel Gibson’s star is dimming into nothingness. Perhaps it’s for the best?

There’s something about the word “canceled” that lacks permanence. “Canceled” celebrities come back all the time. But I probably won’t watch anymore of Gibson’s B-movies. I definitely won’t watch Force of Nature 2: Hurricane Harvey. It could happen (that’s the thing about craptastic movies: characters can magically come back to life.) I can’t watch him and not think about what he seems to believe. I suppose I should be thankful the character of Mad Max was saved by Tom Hardy.

I wanted this to be a movie review, but it’s an obituary now. R.I.P. Mel Gibson’s career.