Apocalypto

Apocalypto

Because of my growing hatred of Mel Gibson, I really wanted to hate this film. Every cell in my body wanted to loath this film. However, after watching it just a few hours ago, I am forced to say that I enjoyed this film deeply. Gibson has somehow forged a violent yet spiritual film about the Mayan Kingdom.

The movie is extremely violent and is about a Mayan village made up of good-natured hunters and their families. Gibson gives us a few minutes to see that these people in this small village are close to each other and generally good people. We can see that their sense of humor is very much like our own, even though their culture is different.

The movie quickly shifts gears when an invading group of Headhunters from the Mayan Kingdom. The hunters are no match for these warriors and many of the adult villagers are captured and sent on a journey to the capital for slavery or worst. The others are killed, while the children are left behind. These scenes are intense, but directed very well by Gibson. He takes the time for us to see the sadness and fear on the faces of the children left behind when the warriors leave with the captured.

The movie switches gears again and turns into a very good chase/action film with bloody end results. If you dig deeper into the story, you would find that the story is really about the American Culture of violence and how we are easily entertained with displays of violence when we should be solving the problems around our society. We’ve grown fat and lazy, uncaring. In the Mayan city, we see that their crops are infested with worms, yet the rulers are more into showing its public beheadings instead of solving their food problems.

The movie is intense, but it’s right up there with Braveheart in terms of editing and production values. The jungles are rich with color and wildlife. Toward the end, the story also has a very exciting twist with the bad omen sub-plot, which I won’t give away here. Just remember your history. Well done Mel Gibson, you’ve done a good job with this film. Just drink a little less.

Grade: A-

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