Review: Apocalypto

Director : Mel Gibson
Main Cast : Rudy Youngblood, Jonathan Brewer

Mel Gibson's latest is a beautiful, kinetic, edge-of-your-seat, harrowing and gruesome tale set during the last days of the Mayan empire, cast entirely by locals speaking the ancient language (with subtitles of course).



Though the opening scene ends with the gory killing of a tapir for food, the next 20 minutes shows the humanity, love and laughter of the people in the small village, showing they are just like any other people in any civilisation or time, despite their very agressive and scary appearances. Until disaster strikes, that is. In the most harrowing and grim scenes I have seen since Hotel Rwanda, a rival group of tribesmen invade the village, brutally murdering half the villagers, and tying up the rest and forcing them on a long trek through the jungle.

Much has been said about the violence in Apocalypto, and though it is quite gory in parts, most of the really terrible stuff happens off-screen. But then, I've been used to a diet of B-Grade slasher and horror flicks, and I've seen much worse.

So is Apocalypto a fictionalised documentary of the Mayan empire? Does it, as the name suggests, discuss the reasons behind the fall of one of the greatest ancient civilisations? Well, not really. Take away the loincloths, spears and rainforest, and Apocalpyto is your typical action flick. And a very good one too.