Mel Gibson's Apocalypto is an action film set in the final days of the Mayan Empire. The Mayans, like many other Native American nations, have (and rightly so) received a lot of good press for their spectacular cultural achievements, sculpture, art, building accomplishments, and other good, positive things. Little has been said publicly about the darker side of the Mayans, the Aztecs, or the Incas.
Enter this brutal film by Mel Gibson to change that!
Just as he did with Braveheart, Gibson picks a moment in history to tell a story of a man's love for his woman and family and set it in an action-packed environment, full of speed, gore, and spectacular backgrounds.
Kudos must be given to Gibson for creating what may be the world's first mainstream movie filmed in Mayan language. Gibson used contemporary Mayan people for many of the parts of the movie.
This movie has been savaged by the critics, but it is clear to me that most of that writing has really been aimed at Gibson, rather than the film. Yes, there's a lot of violence, but there was also a lot of violence in multi-Oscar winner Braveheart. Yes, it does depict the Mayans as bloodthirsty, human sacrificers - but they were! And it does show the spectacular building accomplishment of the Mayans.
A lot of the negative criticism of this film, in violence-happy Hollywood, is unwarranted for the film and more of a heavy-handed, typical response to Gibson's spectacular success with The Passion of the Christ, coupled with a reaction to his despicable behavior when arrested in Los Angeles.
If you don't like violent action in films, then avoid this movie. If you want to be entertained by Gibsonian trademarks of magnificent settings, grand scenery, a tight, action-packed plot, a simple story of a young man going Rambo on his tormentors, and what should be award-winning sets and costumes (although the film has already received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film), then go and enjoy a typical Gibson film.
Article comments
1 - RJ Elliott
I haven't seen a movie in the theaters in months. But this is one I really want to see. (Of course, I said the same thing about Borat, and I still haven't seen the damn thing...maybe I'll end up waiting until the DVD comes out?)