Apocalypto

From the moment “The Passion of the Christ" was released in 2004, Mel Gibson’s career has been a non-stop roller coaster ride full of commercial success and public humiliation. Despite grossing $370 million at the box-office, his film was condemned by numerous religious sects and he has subsequently become the poster boy for all things anti-Semitic. Some critics even felt that his star in Hollywood was quickly disappearing and that he would be hard-lucked to find another job anytime soon.

Well, it’s 2006 and Mel has returned once again in an attempt to repair what’s left of his public image and show people why he’s still one of the top directors in the business.Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto is another blood-soaked work of genius from a filmmaker who has made a living off dealing with controversial subject matter and could be a major player when Oscar time rolls around.

Deep in the Yucatán peninsula, Gibson tells the harrowing story of a Mayan warrior named Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), who is chosen by the rulers to be a human sacrifice and must ultimately go to great lengths to be with his family once again. In his big-screen debut, Youngblood delivers an intense, haunted performance that really resonates with the audience and makes you feel as if you’re right there with him.

He handles the dialogue with great skill and never was there a point where I felt he was trying too hard to make everything believable. That, I feel is one of Gibson’s talents a director, because no matter what the scene requires, his actors always seem to rise to the occasion. Since there is rarely a dull moment, the audience is treated to some thrilling battle sequences full of enough piercing and decapitation that it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. Some people may criticize it for being too graphic or gratuitous, but I have a hard time believing that, at some point, their society wasn’t really like that.

They performed sacrifices just like many other great civilizations and their methods were not always the most wholesome or compassionate, so I think the bloodshed was important in showing what these people really went through.

Gibson’s tremendous dedication to this project should certainly be acknowledged and casting all indigenous people is one of the main reasons for this film being as extraordinary as it is.

Although there are some observable anachronisms, Gibson and his team have succeeded in creating a skillfully written and beautifully filmed movie in which the Mayan culture is portrayed as a strong, yet doomed empire that had no idea of the danger that awaited them in the future.

No one in Hollywood needs a hit more than Mel Gibson and I think he has finally found what he is looking for. Like the Mayans themselves, Gibson became overly confident in his abilities and thought that he could do anything he wanted without suffering from the consequences.

Regardless of whether or not the public ever forgives him, I feel that with Apocalypto, he has achieved his own personal salvation.

- *** ½ out of 4