1) Description
From Mel Gibson, director of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and the Academy Award®-winning BRAVEHEART (Best Director, Best Picture, 1995) comes the thrilling historical epic APOCALYPTO. This intense, nonstop action-adventure transports you to an ancient South American civilization, for an experience unlike anything you’ve ever known. In the twilight of the mysterious Mayan culture, young Jaguar Paw is captured and taken to the great Mayan city where he faces a harrowing end. Driven by the power of his love for his wife and son, he makes an adrenaline-soaked, heart-racing escape to rescue them and ultimately save his way of life. Filled with unrelenting action and stunning cinematography, APOCALYPTO is an enthralling and unforgettable film experience.'

2) Amazon.com
Forget any off-screen impressions you may have of Mel Gibson, and experience Apocalypto as the mad, bloody runaway train that it is. The story is set in the pre-Columbian Maya population: one village is brutally overrun, its residents either slaughtered or abducted, by a ruling tribe that needs slaves and human sacrifices. We focus on the capable warrior Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), although Gibson skillfully sketches a whole population of characters--many of whom don't survive the early reels. Most of the film is set in the dense jungle, but the middle section, in a grand Mayan city, is a dazzling triumph of design, costuming, and sheer decadent terror. The movie itself is a triumph of brutality, as Gibson lets loose his well-established fascination with bodily mortification in a litany of assaults including impalement, evisceration, snakebite, and bee stings. It's a dark, disgusted vision, but Gibson doesn't forget to apply some very canny moviemaking instincts to the violence--including the creation of a tremendous pair of villains (strikingly played by Raoul Trujillo and Rodolfo Palacias). The film is in a Maya dialect, subtitled in English, and shot on digital video (which occasionally betrays itself in some blurry quick pans). Amidst all the mayhem, nothing in the film is more devastating than a final wordless exchange of looks between captured villager Blunted (Jonathan Brewer) and his wife's mother (Maria Isabel Diaz), a superb change in tone from their early relationship. Yes, this is an obsessive, crazed movie, but Gibson knows what he's doing. --Robert HortonBeyond Apocalypto More films directed by Mel GibsonApocalypto soundtrack by James HornerStills from Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (click for larger image)

1) Great movie!   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Mel Gibson tells a good story in a great way. Beautiful settings, great performances. A travel back in time.

2) Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (Widescreen Edition)   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
A Mayan forest village lives happily and harmoniously, except the mean teasing of Blunted's inability to sire. When terrified refugees pass, the chief forbids the hunting party to 'spead fear', but the real cause soon follows. Their own community is pillaged, the survivors cruelly enslaved and dragged away. The chief's proud son Jaguar Paw manages to hide his pregnant wife and toddler son, but in an unsafe place. The men are destined for bloody sacrifice to the gods in the raider kingdom's pestilence-stricken capital. An 'auspicious' solar eclipse renders their number superfluous, but the raiders' captain orders them killed as target practice. Jaguar Paw survives, killing the captain's son, and may now incarnate an apocalyptic prophecy or still perish without saving his family, while another danger looms unseen. Apocalypto delivers a rush that does not let up. Brilliant images unlike any showcased in a movie, flash across the screen with dizzying speed. This movie features scene after scene that hits the perfect note, which is always a high-pitched one filled with tension. Apocalypto is the perfect action movie, punctuating its frenzy of activity with beautiful and surprising images. I'm overwhelmed by the experience.

3) Apocolypto   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
People see the name Mel Gibson and automatically think negative. Place that aside and watch the movie. Acting is 5 stars (even the 2 year old with his mother. His reaction in scenes is priceless), storyline is 5 stars, plot is 5 stars, cinematography is 7 stars, end of movie is totally unpredicted and perfect - 10 stars. Don't be scared because of the use of subtitles. This movie uses subtitles sparingly and they don't flash on the screen then disappear before you can read them, like European/Asian movies. Once the movie gets started you can follow the action without the subtitles if you elect. This movie should be elevated to the all-time heirarchy with greats like Ben Hur, Gone With The Wind, Star Wars, Avatar, the GodFather or Lawrence of Arabia. It is simply spectacular. Job well done. You know it is a fantastic movie when you can watch it again and again and again and again. Wow.

4) Good picture, good action, poor plot and too much gore   [Rating: 2 out of 5]
After watching excellent Gibson movies like like Braveheart, Passion of the Christ and Signs, I watched with disappointment Apocalypto. The movie has good picture and excellent special effects as well as action but all these good traits are constantly overshadow by an exaggerated display of gore. Now, I'm OK with gore when used to emphasize the plot but large parts of this movie seem to be the other way around: There's some plot added to emphasize the gore. I would not recommend you to buy this movie. Rent it instead.

5) With Lavish Attention to Details, Why Astronomical Errors?   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Why do so many authors and filmmakers make errors regarding the sun and moon?It seems to be a tradition. Shakespeare and Dickens made astronomical errors. Virtually every film containing astronomical elements within its story gets the details wrong. (The only film I can recall with correct astronomical details is Over the Hedge). In Apocalypto, we have a total eclipse of the sun occurring as a major plot element. Later on the same evening, the hero's wife sees a full moon in the sky. This is impossible. Solar eclipses occur at new moon when the moon is not visible in the evening sky. Also, the partial phases of the eclipse in the movie were much to fast to be natural. It generally takes about an hour for the moon to completely cover the sun. In Apocalypto, it took just a few seconds. As for myself, I have been fortunate to witness many eclipses, and they just don't work the way shown in the movie. An equally compelling scene could have been created with correct astronomical details. I watched the filmmaker's documentary on the DVD, and it described the incredible amount of work required to create a plausible Mayan world based upon archaeological evidence. Why couldn't this effort have extended to the astronomical phenomena displayed in the film? I am willing to offer my services to any filmmakers or authors that read this review. Describe your astronomical details and I will critique them. As for my qualifications, I am a science and astronomy educator with many years of sky observation under my belt. Despite all of the above, I liked the movie. It was quite an ingenious bit of history-based world making. Although the violence and cruelty in the film were horrific, I liked how the movie ended.