Apocalypto review

Mel Gibson is nothing else if not intense. The creator of the ultra-violent epic Braveheart and the de facto snuff film The Passion of the Christ has outdone himself, albeit he did it in a VERY good film. Apocalypto is a tale of the decline of the Mayan empire, but that is misleading. The setting of the film is during the period of their decilne, but this story probably could have happened at any point in their history. First of all, there are factual errors. The Mayan civilation declined in the 8th and 9th centuries AD, but there is a scene in the movie that briefly features European settlers, but they did not land in the Yucatan peninsula until the 15th century. This could be mostly symbolic and in the context of the scene, it can be scene as symbolic to the themes of the movie.
To say that this is a violent movie would be to say that Beaver Stadium holds a couple of people. The movie features human sacrifices, beatings, rapes, murder in many ways, animal slayings and animals killing people. Many Mayan descendants have conmplained this movie portrays Mayans as savages, but I think this is just knee jerk reactionary talk. Living in the 8th century would require people be savages. Living in a jungle world where anything can kill you requires a degree of moral flexibility. Despite all the savagery, there is a lot of emotion in the film. There are many displays of humor, love, and honor; all of which are admirable qualities that I feel that all groups of people have in one degree or another.
Mel Gibson has proven that he will not shy away from gore, and this movie embraces it. The camera work is beautiful and it takes full advantage of the beautiful scenery of the Yucatan jungle, which is where the movie was shot. This movie will no doubt win the Acadeny award for costume design and several technical categories. The tattoos and multiple facial piercings of the Mayans are factually accurate (thank you wikipedia) and I feel that this movie does honor the heritage of the people.
Also, I applaud Mel Gibson for using actors who are descendents of the natives. He uses the moct common dialect of the Mayans even though there were MANY different dialects, that is forgivable. The subtitles did not bother me. There are no star actors in this movie which makes the audience focus on the story as a whole and not on some dumb celebrity.
Overall, I recommend this movie to everyone, but be forewarned, this is the most violent made since....well, Mel Gibson's last movie, The Passion.

Tags: Apocalypto