Apocalypto

DVD review from Nick at Nite

Apocalypto? More like Apocalypse Now. This Mel Gibson tribute to himself is an unoriginal hodgepodge of most of the action movies of the last twenty years, with special emphasis placed on stealing themes and actions sequences from Rambo, The Fugitive, Tarzan, and the Jungle Book. I will give Gibson credit for three things. First, he resurrected a dead language and made a mass marketed movie with subtitles. Second, the costumes and sets were very realistic. Third, he can depict torture and decapitation better than most. Certainly, as good as Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino in the Hostel movies (should Mel be proud of that). The story is simple enough. A group of savages attack, kill, rape, maim, and capture villagers living in the jungle. The savages take those that they capture to the city for sale as slaves or sacrifice to the gods. Our hero escapes, kills the savages, and rescues his family whom he hid near the village during the attack on the villagers. I give it a solid "C."