Apocalypto Movie Review

Staying true to my previous statement, I'm going to try and keep these things short, but this one is probably going to be on the longer side. I've got a lot to say about it, but I'll try and keep it short, and what I figure is if someone wants to know more about what I think, they can ask. Anyways, on to the review.

This film opens, and you're right in the Mayan culture. It does a great job of immersing you into this world, which is so foreign and different from anything we know, and presents it for you, which allowed me to really accept it. It didn't force it, it was just there, and it was real, so I bought into it, no problem. It also does a great, GREAT job developing this central character into someone you really like and are honestly rooting for during the movie. Above all, it was brilliantly shot. It looked really good. Like, really good. There were a few spots of bad CGI, but everything else was amazing. See it for the cinematography alone. But what you should REALLY see it for is the chase. This was the greatest chase on film since The French Connection, and even that one didn't look this good, but I'll chalk that up to the 35 years of industry advancement. It is long (in a good way), it is suspenseful, it is clever, and it's REALLY entertaining. The way he gets himself into the chase is also really fun to watch.

The only thing I didn't like were the dialogue, or I guess the "english translation" because the movie was subtitled. It was so bad in it's own right, but it also used terms and phrases that would not even exist back then, and they REALLY took me out of the movie. You guys know that people are going to be reading this, and relying on it to follow along, and you write awful stuff. At one point, a Mayan says, "He's fucked." That phrase wasn't around then, and I'm sure "fuck" didn't even exist. It really pissed me off.

Overall, if you can handle a whole lot of graphic blood and a lot of National Geographic-esque nudity, then this movie is definitely worth seeing. Please, don't make the mistake 3 different families did and bring your kids, because it is 100% too much for them to see. I was shocked that these people had their kids there, and even more shocked that they stayed through the whole movie. It's really graphic.

On the Reganometer, I give this movie a 7 out of 10, and say go see it, if for no other reason, for the chase (which I give a 10 out of 10).