Thrilling adventure in a unique setting!

The trailers for APOCALYPTO make it look like a total blast, a real adrenaline rush. And that's what this movie delivers...big time. It is very action packed and exciting. The scenes of atrocity and violence are delivered pretty unflinchingly (as Mel Gibson likes to do)...although there is nothing as lingeringly graphic as the flaying scene in PASSION OF THE CHRIST. It's just good, R-rated violence. The chase scenes (and the last third of the movie is basically one long chase scene) are extremely well filmed, edited and performed. It is impossible to dismiss Gibson as a director...his sense of action and pace is pretty darn good.

The basic story of APOCALYPTO (one tribe, more powerful and "advanced" than the other, attacks and brutalizes the other tribe. Plucky survivor must escape and suffer much peril to save his beloved family) could almost have been set anywhere. I can see it in the middle-ages, in the Old West, modern day, in the future, etc. etc. But Gibson latched on to the latter-days of the Mayan culture, and it's a great choice. Yes, I believe he's trying to make a statement of some sort about caring for the land, or the crumbling of civilization, etc...but I just really loved seeing this society. There really haven't been any major movies set during this time. I was a HUGE fan of the book "Aztec" by Gary Jennings a couple of decades ago...and this movie is the closest thing to an evocation of that book than anything else ever put on screen. When the prisoners (our heroes) are taken to a Mayan city, the careful depiction of their journey, from the "suburbs" to a kind of skid row, through "factories" into the religious / political heart of the city is just breathtaking. I don't know how accurate it is...but it is transporting in every way. You get a very visceral sense of what life is like in this community. The art direction, costumes and CGI landscapes are seamless and endlessly creative.

I've read a number of reviews that say Gibson really dwells on the scenes of human sacrifice (heads rolling down the stairs of the pyramids, hearts cut from still living bodies, etc.). Most of the reviewers that criticized the violence also disliked the film...or disliked Mel Gibson. My honest take on it is this: the human sacrifice scenes are somewhat graphic...but we never actually see things like beheadings. We see the sword come down, but not making contact. Then the head is held up and rolled down the stairs. I've seen worse stuff on CSI! It's well done...but unlike PASSION, Gibson doesn't feel he needs to show us every detail in slow-motion. Yes, it is violent, but I frankly had expected even more wallowing, and it was not bad at all. R-rated, yes...without question. But hardly earth-shaking either.

And let me again say that the climactic sequences, involving a chase through the jungle is fast-paced, frightening at times, scary, sometimes funny and always heart-pounding. It is very modern, yet it's also nicely old-school...almost like a high-tech, modern, color version of an old movie serial...where one cliffhanger after another concluded each episode.

To me and to my wife, this was a highly satisfying movie-going experience. I think Oscar nominations are in order for art direction, costumes, cinematography and editing (at least). I wasn't thrilled with Mel Gibson's recent shenanigans...but don't deprive yourself of the pleasure of this film just because Gibson is borderline psychotic!! He's also a great filmmaker. To me, this is one of the top 10 movies of the year.