Apocalypto
Apocalypto, the story of a man determined to survive because of the love of his family. Mel Gibson redeems himself with a one of a kind film that captures your attention. The story takes place within the Mayan civilization which is saturated with ample violence. The story follows Jaguar Paw played by Rudy Youngblood as he is captured and set to be sacrificed, yet by fate he is miraculously given another chance to survive and preserve his way of life.
As Apocalypto is a film played by unknowns it enables you to enjoy and appreciate the film for what it is without too many distractions that often come with familiar actors and reminders of their past roles. Apocalypto is an original piece of work that was beautifully written and filmed. Just a little film fact here, the amount of digital footage shot would approximately equal 2 million feet of conventional film.
Subtitles weren't even necessary to follow the story as the story followed seamlessly. The context and history of this indigenous culture is relatively unknown to a lot of people. I believe that this factor gave Gibson the upper hand on this original piece. Though there is no other film to compare to Apocalypto, the story is one of sheer brutality, realism, and historical fact.
Though this is a film I would recommend everyone to see, with the notable exception of children. Headhunters are given that title for a reason and this historical fact is portrayed with graphic violence.
The making of this film itself is also very interesting and is worth a look on the DVD extras. Another interesting fact from the DVD extras was that many of the actors were Mayan and had not actually acted before. I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a original flick. If you shy away from foreign language and subtitles, don't even worry about it. The story will captivate you enough that you will simply be drawn in.
Story A+
Acting A
Visuals A+
Originality A+
Enjoyability A+
Home Theater/HD Factor A
Overall Grade A+
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