Back home

Apocalypto

5954 votes

Producing House

Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 2006-12-07

Runtime: 139 mins

Director: Mel Gibson

Writer: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia

Spoken language:

Genres: Action, Drama, History

Original title: Apocalypto

Production Companies: Icon Entertainment International, Icon Productions, Touchstone Pictures

Production Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
Tapir's testicle, anyone? They're not quite the delicacy the playful warriors claim as they tease one of their pals, but it's illustrative of the nature of the relationship between these young Mayan tribesmen who, thus far, have found their greatest fear emanating from a menacing mother-in-law who is demanding that she gets grandchildren. That all changes when a more dominant war party arrive looking for sacrifices. The shrewd "Jaguar Paw" (Rudy Youngblood) manages to hide his expectant wife and their child in a deep pit, but he is himself taken prisoner by "Zero Wolf" (Raoul Max Trujillo) and removed to the capital - after witnessing his father's slaughter at the hands of "Middle Eye" (Gerarardo Taracena). Once there, in this sight of an almost complete pyramid, they are to be offered to their great god Kulkulkan. It's as if by a divine intervention that this young man is spared, but that mercy is short lived as he merely now becomes the plaything of the warriors. They have one chance of escape, but that only earns him the furious enmity of the powerful 'Zero Wolf" and soon one hell of a cat and mouse game ensues. The photography really does capture the density of the Mexican forests and the Mel Gibson's direction the gruesome and gruelling lives of the young men who lived and died at the behest of the priests. What we are also exposed to is a civilisation teetering on the edge. Disease is rife - hardly surprising when we see the sheer volume of corpses lying around, and amidst all this desperation some of the dialogue is rousing, powerful and sometime quite relaxed too. Many of the actors are genuine tribesmen and some deliver some more than incidental parts quite well, but it's Youngblood, Trujillo and perhaps best of all - Taracena, who make this a grudge match well worth watching. It's sumptuous, this film. Gritty, bloody, violent - but sumptuous. Well worth a watch, and a big screen does great justice to the super cinematography.
2025-01-27

G

GenerationofSwine
Let's be honest, almost all of the 1 star reviews are because of how the Mayan's are depicted and stem from a lack of historical knoweldge. There seems to be the misconception that the Mayans were peaceful and didn't sacrifice humans... which reminds me of when my wife and I went to visit her family in Guatemala where the high point was really watching the American tourists swim in pools of water that probably had the bodies of thousands of sacrificial victims at the bottom... mostly 14 year-old boys. Yeah, no way I would get in that water, but then I know what's beneath it. Apocaypto is kind of about that... but it doesn't really convey the fact that, like the rest of Central and South America the sacrifice was to prevent the end of the world... and this kind of makes it about drought (which hit about the time they made contact with the west) And it really doesn't convey the culture very well... but it does seem to zero in on the point that it wasn't their own people they were sacrificing, it was the people removed from the cities, the people that fell under the Mayan Empire, but weren't exactly a part of it... ... which is what the Aztecs did too. But, who cares, in the end it's a brutal fight for survival, and it's an entertaining one.
2023-01-11

R

Ruuz
I don't know if there is a better example of dedication in filmmaking out there than there is in _Apocalypto_. Brilliant, if overrated. _Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go._
2016-10-01

Recommendations

Not Here to Be Loved
3.4

Not Here to Be Loved

2005-10-12

Jean-Claude Delsart, a 50 years-old bailiff, with his worn-out smile and heart, abandoned a long tim

Dogville
3.9

Dogville

2003-05-21

A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange fo

Spider-Man 3
3.2

Spider-Man 3

2007-05-01

The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-

Die Hard
3.9

Die Hard

1988-07-15

NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when,

The Mummy
3.5

The Mummy

1999-04-16

Dashing legionnaire Rick O'Connell stumbles upon the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra while in the midst o

Dances with Wolves
3.9

Dances with Wolves

1990-03-30

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a rewar

The Passion of the Christ
3.8

The Passion of the Christ

2004-02-25

A graphic portrayal of the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life.

The Last Samurai
3.8

The Last Samurai

2003-12-05

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, whic

Life Is Beautiful
4.2

Life Is Beautiful

1997-12-20

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale

Tethered
2.5

Tethered

2022-03-18

Miles from civilization, a blind teenager and the hunter he befriends are tormented by a mysterious

The Girl
3.1

The Girl

1965-05-07

A lyrical fourfold perspective on WWII through the eyes of a young partisan couple, a town photograp

Rakshadhikari Baiju (Oppu)
3.6

Rakshadhikari Baiju (Oppu)

2017-04-21

A kind-hearted government employee in his forties, who spends most of his time with youngsters, self

Platoon
3.9

Platoon

1986-12-19

As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the

Annaluise & Anton
3.5

Annaluise & Anton

1999-03-11

Luise, called Pünktchen, and Anton are closest of friends. Being the daughter of a wealthy surgeon,

Lolita
3.6

Lolita

1962-06-13

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulga

Silent Running
3.2

Silent Running

1972-03-09

After the entire flora goes extinct, ecologist Lowell maintains a greenhouse aboard a space station

The Music Room
3.8

The Music Room

1958-10-10

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices h

In the Mood for Love
4

In the Mood for Love

2000-09-29

In 1962 Hong Kong, neighbors Su Li-zhen (Mrs. Chan) and Chow Mo-wan (Mr. Chow) discover their spouse

Enemy at the Gates
3.7

Enemy at the Gates

2001-02-28

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

Sleepless in Seattle
3.4

Sleepless in Seattle

1993-06-24

After the death of his mother, a young boy calls a radio station in an attempt to set his father up