Apocalypto (DVD)

If you want a gripping, immersive action thriller then take a seat and enjoy one of the best films this year.

Apocalypto is a winner and it succeeds in its opening minutes by drawing us straight in with characters one can root for. With plenty of humour, we are introduced to a peaceful Mayan village where out hero, Jaguar Paw, lives with his pregnant wife and child. The village is carefree and happy, making the first 30 minutes very enjoyable and hooks us in. Then, things take a horrible turn when another tribe appear and attack the village, taking as many prisoners as possible and killing the rest.

For me, I particularly enjoyed the middle section in the Mayan city: I liked the representation of the Mayan class system and was intrigued by the similarities to ancient Rome in terms of folk getting carried around eating grapes and such. The sacrifice scene was great, it felt justifiably dangerous and horrifying (as well it should) and the overall cinematography is suitably lush and grimy at the same time.

A great watch for sure!!!

If you have found this review helpful please click the "YES" button below so i can continue to help my fellow ebay members with their decisions.

Thanks,

eXeBooks

Apocalypto is the wonderful story of a brave tribesman named "Jaguar Paw" who we follow on this magical adventure back in Aztec Mexico. Mel Gibson directs a true masterpiece that is faultless in almost every way. Beautiful storyline, wonderful acting, great scenery and some truly mindblowing shots. It's full of action, romance, history and drama.

There are some gruesome parts to be expected but it's not as horrific as "Passion of The Christ" for me. Nevertheless, Gibson replicates some very memorable Aztec tortures and rituals as well as survival tactics for the deep rainforest. The movie movies quite quickly from the offset when a group of hunters chase a wild boar through the jungle, and it continues right through the movie to keep you on the edge of your seat. The only fault for me is the length of the movie. Both "Braveheart" and "Passion of The Christ" were lengthy movies but Apocalypto is a little on the short side.

But despite the disappointing length of the movie, everything else is here in abundance and it's an excellent watch for anyone who can withstand slightly squeamish parts. A masterpiece.

Apocalypto
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Starring: Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead, Carlos Emilio Baez
Certificate: 18
Running time: 138mins


Civilizations have blossomed and then disappeared in the blink of an eye, now Mr.Gibson has delivered a film that looks at just such a lost race in his new film, Apocalypto.

The eagerly anticipated epic looks at a young member of a dwindling race, Jaguar Paw, whose peaceful way of life is torn apart when his village is attacked by evil trespassers, who kidnap the men and women and leave the young for dead.

Unbeknownst to Jaguar Paw, the captured men are to be used as a gruesome sacrifice to this powerful and religious race. Paw, however, has other plans-he isn’t going anywhere. Not yet .

Close to meeting a harrowing end, a twist of fate sees Jaguar Paw escape from his captors and go on the run not only to evade the enemy but get back to his destroyed village and rescue his wife and child that were hidden during the attack.

Well we’re already one week into 2007 and I’m glad to say that Apocalypto is perfect way to start this year, hitting the ground running, and not stopping for anything. Gibson creates an immediate connection for the audience with Jaguar Paw and the villagers. The comradery between hunters and relationship between father and son are all brilliantly executed resulting in fear and panic when the village is destroyed by the hostile intruders. Every desperate attempt to defend themselves is something you can’t ignore, building a false hope for the innocent victims to somehow get to safety and escape the throat slicing head chopping enemy-which they do an awful lot.

From tribe warriors releasing jets of red mist at the temple, to seeing through the eyes of a severed head, (lovely) Apocalypto spares no expense at the blood bank, and whether you turn away at the sight of it or not, it’s that, that creates even more of an impact for the film, as well as the brilliant use of breathtaking locations, the whole film is a wonderful sight to behold. To the incredible heights of the mammoth pyramids and cities that could lead to our hero’s gruesome demise, to the lush forest that becomes Paw’s battleground and weapon against the enemy, resulting in our hero being at the end of unstoppable manhunt.

It may sound odd but an epic film about human sacrifice and beheading has something for everyone; love, loss, survival and trouble with the in laws, with eleven more months to go of this year it wouldn’t surprise me that Apocalypto manages to make its way out of the jungle as one of the best of 2007.

Mel Gibson is always good for a surprise, and his latest is that Apocalypto is a remarkable film. Set in the waning days of the Mayan civilization, the picture provides a trip to a place one's never been before, offering hitherto unseen sights of exceptional vividness and power.

MOVIE INFO
A heart stopping mythic action-adventure set against the turbulent end times of the once great Mayan civilization.

MY OPINION
Wow! What a film, a very good movie. Wasn't expecting it at all. I figured with the way the previews made it look it would just be a bunch of random, scenes of a violent history documentary. Yes it is violent but the story is great and its an incredible amount of excitement thru out.

As it says on the box, “This intense, non-stop action-adventure transports you to an ancient Central American civilization to explore the mysteries of the great Mayan culture.”

The movie has a certificate 18 rating and that’s for good reason. It’s quite gruesome in parts so if you’re a bit squeamish, then have a cushion on hand to hide behind. Apart from the gore, the story is riveting and soon draws you into the plight of the main characters. who have been captured by a barbaric rival tribe.
The plot is well acted and I think Mel Gibson did a fantastic job of directing.
One thing to note, is that the film is subtitled, but don’t let that put you off as the dialogue is limited and quite easy to follow.

The bonus features on the disc are worth watching too. If you’re interested in the Mayan culture then check out Becoming Mayan & Creating Apocalypto which are full of fascinating details about the civilization.

If you found this review helpful then please press Yes below. Thanks

I first saw this film at the cinema,it was so amazing,i could not wait 4 it to come out on dvd. Its a must see film,cant stress enough how much you will enjoy it, Its action packed from beginning to the end, when its finished, you will find yourself still thinking about it!!

Even more violent than Braveheart or the Passion of the Christ, a well acclaimed gory effort from Mel Gibson. If you don't mind fountains of blood, flying decapitated heads (using very inventive camera shots!) or people having their faces chewed off by jaguars, then you will probably enjoy Apocalypto.

I personnaly don't mind the gory bits and I have found this movie to be quite a rivetting action thriller and a very good chase movie.

The DVD itself has some not-too-bad extras, including a nice half hour making-off documentary, an interesting audio commentary from Mel Gibson (very lively, worth giving it a go) and a pretty useless deleted scene.

A good DVD overall in my opinion.

The film itself is absolute brilliant. its by far the biggest cocktail of emotions and realistic acting. The film is easily my favourate film, and ive seen alot. except the dvd i bought from ebay had russian subtitles and the item description didnt tell me this! i expected it to be english!

Excellent film one of a kind, full of gore. The action is so great that the subtitles don't matter at all. Deserves a sequel 110%. Holds your attention throughout the whole film!!!

I used to live next door to the Odeon, so I watched many films. Their was hype about this great movile 'Apocalypto' and the trailors seemed okay, but I was put off by the subtitles (The never bothered me in the 'Passion of the Christ', another great) so I never wasted my money. Recently I heard a wonderful tune, and I found out it was from Apocalypo, so I looked-up some reviews and chose to buy it on Ebay. I watched it and loved it. I'm not one for watching the same film twice, ever, but this one, I could watch over and over and never tire of it.
I hope you all feel the same when you watch it, and watch it again.
and again.
and again.
and again.
Have some coffee.
and watch it again.

a very good film, excellent service from seller. the story is based on true history of the Mayan civilisation, a very violent period of history.

Absolutely excellent piece of work from mel Gibson.Whatever they said about it-bloodbath etc-it is not so.It is just a real picture of what has the life been like long ago.It has been bloody and we all learnt about it at school.I personally find the whole old Mexico fascinating however bloody it was.Let's not forget The Mission where we could see how blood thirsty and pigheaded white Europeans have been!

i had heard some good reports about it, and i must admit it was well worth chasing for weeks to get it after being gazumped five times. The film is good from start to finish despite it being in sub titles.

I bought this film because of its unusual story and favourable reviews.

It is set in pre-conquest Mexico (although the Spanish make a appearance towards the end) and tells the story of a group of forest-dwelling villagers who are taken prisoner by a raiding party from a nearby Mayan city. The efforts of one individual (Jaguar Paw) to escape and rescue his son and pregnant wife forms the basis of the plot.

The action is fast and furious and the scenery impressive. It is well-acted and the use of the indigenous Mayan language help to lend it authenticity.

It is also fairly gory, showing scenes of human sacrifice and gratuitous cruelty, and is not for those of a nervous disposition.

I think Mel Gibson deserves praise for bringing the Mayan civilization to the world's attention and helping to create interest in the rain forest.

Over the top action from the top class Mel Gibson,This film is a one of the kind set in the amazon jungle with tribes being abushed and sacrafised.Action from beginning to end.

Top film reccomended.

a wicked film,best film of last year.(2008) highly recommended
it will have you glued to the screen.

Superb! Fabulous scenery, beautifully filmed. An atmospheric,gripping and tragic movie. The final scene is so... poignant!

Like the hole role with actors and way its made, very like this film, didnt like the ending but hey never mind, i bought this becuase i saw half of it on itv and saw it at a cheap price so fort why not, glad i did.

I decided to buy this film as i have been a fan of mel gibson and wanted to see what he had to offer while directing , i wasnt surprised it was brilliaint the action was non stop and the acting was very good .

Must watch , one of the best films i have ever seen

THIS IS A MUCH THOUGHT THROUGH FILM.. I LOVE IT EVEN THOUGH ITS SUB-TITLED ..
ITS FULL OF ACTION.. GREAT ENDING TOO UNLIKE SOME FILMS.. A++++++++++++++

great film, realy got pulled into it,
good story line, due to the setting u are unaware when it is set untill the end,
controled gore, and good graphics

a**

i love everything about this film... the scenes are amazing and the underlying love story of a fathers need to return to his family is gripping... a must have to any dvd collection... the fact that the film is all in subtitles should not put you off as i felt that it made you pay more attention to the film therefore making it better to understand!
i decided to buy this film as it was on tele a few weeks back but started at 11 and was on a weekday so i was so tierd that i HAD to go to sleep (not in anyway the films fault) and as it was soooo good i came straight onto ebay and purchased it so that i could finish watching it asap!

This is a blinding film, so realistic, its fantastic too watch. It's amazing to think that Gibson got slatted for not using actors but real tribes people, because it works so well and couldn't have come out any better.
Definitely a film you should see in a lifetime!!