Apocalypto (DVD, 2007)

Action packed, intense, heart-pounding, story of love, survival, and the true measure of a man. This movie has it all. It was a bit bloody at times but not enough to make me turn my head, not that I could have since my eyes were glued to the screen. I know Mel Gibson is contoversial but let's face it, all of the greatest ones are.

This movie will take you to places you have never seen before, you will experience a culture unlike any other and become emotionally attached to these beautiful Mayan people. The actors, all of whom were unknown until this picture, performed brilliantly. This is a masterpiece. It is not your typical movie. It left me breathless. I thought about it for days after. Everyone must see this movie.

I found after watching this film that I had gotten a fascintaing history lesson that I hadn't recieved in all my years in school. It seemd just the right length for this type of film, and I completely enjoyed it.

This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat! FULL of graphic action, unbelievable scenes, Suprises, that bring you out of you seat! GREAT!!!!A+
Will watch again.....

There should be more movies made with this level of talent, what a work of art and then some. Written/Directed by Mel Gibson. I just rented it and saw it with my friends and Family, we loved it. Wow I didnt know Mel was talented to this degree,Ive seen movies he was in and he's a great Actor but this movie he written/directed is the best work I ever saw of Mel's, well I should know though after seeing "Braveheart" that he written/directed and acted in,wow that is a great movie. I hope Mel keeps writing/directing more movies,and acting in movies too, Mel Gibson is a genius. I cant really find the words to express what a great movie this is. The actors ,extras everyone was beyond great. Fantastic. I will add more to this comment when I have more time, because this is on my top favorite lists of movies. Beyond Excellent rating I give it,and as many stars as can be given ,this movie deserves all of them. The award shows gave it credit and awards, but not enough. I hope Mel makes more wonderful movies, what a talent and what a cast and the scenery, it was like going back in time and really seeing how it was for the Mayan people. Fantastic and so much more. We need more movies with this quality and talent ,there are some great ones, but this one is one of the top best, with genius talent all across the board in every way a movie can be and can be created.

This is a big move for Mel Gidson, but it was exciting and a pleasureable movie to watch. I like the way the character were developed and protrayed thoughout the movie. The one thing I felt was I have seen, something like this before. The was supose to be a movie of how the Mayan Empire was destroyed and vanished, but after watching it, it was a great story of survival, love, but not a real reason of the miss may of the Mayan Empire. The acting and photography was exciting and totall worth your time watching. It was a good movie to watch and keep you interested for the whole two hours.

I would recommend this movie as a great rental, but I don't believe personally that I would watch this more than once or twice. If you wanting to add it to your collection I'd wait a few month and you will be able to get it at a discounted price quickly.

IF YOU FOUND THIS TO BE HELPFUL THEN PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE !!!!!!!!!

Overall this was a pretty good movie. It was sometimes hard to follow. It was sometimes hard to keep up with the subtitles. It is a very sad movie, but very action packed. I recommend brushing up on your history a bit to fully understand this movie. This movie would make for a good rental. I still recommend it.

This movie is truly amazing. It is like escaping reality for a few hours. You can feel this movie, everything is so real. Almost as if you there as an outsider, looking in on these fascinating people. The ancient Mayans are a unique people and this movies documents that very well. Do yourself a favor and check out this movie! As always, find it cheaper than the stores here on eBay!

Im too lazy too write a lot about it but its a great movie and definaely my top 3 of all time blahkhfjdksfhjdkshfddfdsfdsfdf

Although subtitled, this movie is fabulous to watch. The subtitles don't take away one bit from the fantastic story, which is touching, human, and meaningful. Mel Gibson superbly directs a saga with heart that shows the true human spirit and the plight of the mysterious Mayan people. I highly recommend this wonderful movie to all. Don't worry about the subtitles; they don't weigh down this beautiful tale at all. The cinematography is outstanding, and the action scenes are incredible. The depth of human emotion shown by the entire cast is heart-wrenching and beautiful at the same time. You will deeply care about these characters and want to help their plight. Just watch this wonderful film; you will not be diappointed.

This is an EXCELLENT movie. The subtitle factor is not an issue as this movie is so action packed, you'll never feel lost.
I would highly recommend this movie for adults (lots of violence, so i'm not recommending this for kids).
The content of this movie is so riveting the movie is over way too soon. I could have watched hours more.

THIS MOVIE IS WONDERFUL AT DEPICTING THE LIFE OF THE MAYAN. FOR ONCE SOMEONE DOES A GOOD MOVIE ON PROBABLY THE MOST ADVANCED CIVILIZATION OF THERE TIME. THATS RIGHT MAYANS & AZTECS WERE THE MOST ADVANCED OF THERE TIME. BEATING THE EGYPTIANS!

This is another one of Mel's finest. Makes me wonder why all the controversy over Mel.

Scene's I really dug.

The Myan grandfather, Myan's gathered round the campfire, the old man telling the story of the emptiness of man. It made the hair stand up on my head, surrealistic and deep double edge meaning... And I envy a culture who has moments like that. Everyone, like a large family gathered round ceremonious fire.

The Aztec priest, the ego maniac one. Who stirred the crowd up in a blood frenzy. Who is it that he seemed to reflect Noriega or is it Chavez... one of them guys...

Jaguar paw was awsome and that a-hole Aztec who called him Almost. The way he kept accidentally giving his intentions away and the oh too quick A-hole that picked up on every detail. (hate guys like that, though I could be one).

The nightmarish way the women dance bobbing up and down when they painted blue paint on them. On route to sacrifice.

During the chase, when Paw cut the son's throat (yeah...!) and when Paw tripped on the slimy pile of bodies on way to corn field.

The movie made me fantasize about time traveling back with machine guns. I'd cut a big path for the Mayans.

RJ

I saw it on cable TV and found it to be a riveting film. It builds in intensity throughout. The acting is superlative. I do think the arrival of the conquistadors at the end was overkill but that was at the end. I bought it to return to it whenever I pleased.

I purchased this movie on Ebay, but it was an ILLEGAL COPY which does not play so I had to RENT it to WATCH it. Its really an amazing film. I was drawn to it because of the historical content and also because it is a Mel Gibson project. I appreciate how the partial nudity was handled - VERY tasteful and you really don't notice it. The people are beautiful and there is so much color and nature that it all fits and I felt very confortable, not assulated like so many movies that bombard you with nudity just for the sake of making it dirty. You really do enter into another world for the duration of the movie. You care about the charactors. They are so intelligent and know every inch of their land. Gibson made the charactors so real and so deep. I was horrified by the evil man is capable of, the greed and sick desire for power at any cost. I gained so much respect for the the simple village of people who's dignity was part of their moral fabric. These people would die for a friend or family memeber and see their responsibility through no matter what. We could learn a lot by the values of the village portrayed in this movie about humanity, decency, respect and honor. We can also see how easy it is to literally be posessed by evil when a people seek wealth and power - they forget about anything of real importance and revert to caveman-ish cruelty and child-like selfishness. The movie is very graphic and violent at times, but also very warm and touching. Your adreneline is going pretty much the entire time with few breaks! Very intense and intensely beautiful lush land and cinematography.
WATCH OUT FOR BOOTLEG/ ILLEGAL COPIES!!! Ebay has done NOTHING to help me get my money back and I can not contact the seller as their account was suspended.
I was better off RENTING than buying - should have gone to AMAZON!!!

This movie is filled with insight on the Mayan culture. The costumes are colorful and this movie is filled with 100% action. This movie is not for the faint hearted. Mel Gibson did an awesome job on this movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I was engrossed. I laughed, I gaped in horror in certain scenes, etc. But I watched it with a friend of mine who was thoroughly disappointed. We argued about it after, and I felt my friend made some interesting points. 1) Is Mel Gibson trying to say that it's GOOD that white people came and took over this land? Because it certainly seems that the white settlers saved the day in the end. Maybe these Indians deserved to die? (That seems to be the "moral" of the movie, according to my friend) 2) In Braveheart, the lead character's love interest has her throat sliced open, which spurs him into action. In Apocalypto, the lead character's father has his throat sliced open, which... well, you get the point. 3) If you watch Braveheart, The Patriot, Passion of the Christ, and Apocalypto in the same sitting, it's almost like you're watching the same movie. The plots are very similar. Obviously, they're different settings and such, but they're all about a lead character getting tortured, brutalized, and having his loved ones killed in front of him; and then he gets his bloody revenge. Hell, obviously Passion doesn't entirely fit that - but it IS in subtitles!!! :O) Also, that pretty much describes the plot in Lethal Weapon and Mad Max also. I think Mel needs therapy. :O) Lol.

STILL, that said, I friggin LOVED the movie. It was exciting, funny, sad - and not in a preachy way either. The plot may be very similar to his others, and the ending is defintely questionable from a moral perspective - but the action scenes were top notch. The design was incredible. The acting, great. And hell, Braveheart is one of the greatest movies ever made. Who cares if this is similar! :O)

=Dan

A welcome change of pace for us who feel Hollywood keeps making the same picture over and over again. The first part of this film is the most unconventional but also hard to endure as only bad things seem to happen to the characters but once Act II arrives and the chase begins, grab on !. I can't remmember the last time a film had my stomach in knotts like this one.
Some people here in Mexico have complained about the film's historical accuracy since by the time the Spanish arrived in America, the Mayan civilization had already been taken over by other groups. In any case, Hollywood films are not the best way to learn about history.
When Braveheart came out over 10 years ago I remmember a friend telling me: "who would have thought Mel Gibson was a real director", 2 films later he keeps surprising me with his directing skills. It's too bad the public has let themselves be convinced by the media that he's the most evil person to ever come out of Hollywood which is absurd. I guess they feel the more they discredit him the more they discredit "The Passion of the Christ".

Although the scenery on the movie was fabulous, it could not rescue the movie. It depicts the Mayans as incredibly bloody, which they weren't. Historically, it was not even in the same century as the facts, as the Mayans had disappeared by the 11th Century and the Spanish did not arrive to America until the 16th Century (about 500 years of disparity). The Mayans were an incredibly advanced and peaceful people and Gibson chooses to not show that side of them, choosing to show a bloody work of fiction. Gibson must not have done any research, as there were very few surviving codices of the Mayans since the Catholic priests burned all their books. I was extremely disappointed.

Wonderful movie, excellent work by Mel Gibson in directing. This film is a welcomed addition to my collection!

Beautiful movie...costumes and cinematography are gorgeous! Little dialogue but huge story! Love it

I loved the movie. I do not, normally, purchase movies but this one I could see time and time again. There is excitement, a love story, and history (and more). I think this is the first (maybe 2nd movie) I have purchased.

Very good movie with a positive plot about (surprisingly) family values and traditions. Not as violent as I expected, but certainly not a movie to let the kids watch. Subtitles were not a detractor. Definitely worth viewing.

This movie was shipped to me very quickly, just as promised. It was an easy, no fuss transaction and I would buy from them again,