Gibson Rocks!!!. Review on Apocalypto Movie

'A great civilisation is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."

If you do plan to watch this(or already have), this is the first thing you are going to get exposed to. Pretty powerful saying:)

For starters, this movie is not in English, but in a native Mayan language.(Dont worry, there are English sub titles). The picturization of the movie is so good, that after some time, one does tend to get engrossed with all characters and literally understand the native tongue. No kidding!

WORD OF CAUTION:

This movie is certainly not for the light hearted audience who wanna laugh at the antics of Johnny Lever and Paresh Rawal. Or marvel at the stammering power of SRK. The 120 minutes odd movie can get disturbing and yet unique for cinema goers. Certainly not for those going with family or out on a date.Literally, within the first 15 mins span of the movie, saw a bunch of girls walking out.Hehehe:)

I have always been in the awe of the brilliance of Mel Gibson since Braveheart days. Like Braveheart and Passion of Christ, he has made a brutally violent movie with little known actors. Wonder how does he get these characters to deliver mind boggling performances.

Now, coming back to the movie. I dont believe in talking more about the storyline of the movie. U can check this in other reviews. I think there are great writers here to capture it.

Not revealing much, the plot of the movie revolves around a young Mayan hunter named Jaguar Paw whose village gets captured by head hunters. The first half captures the essence of the chaos and violent attack of these hunters upon a peaceful, sleeping village. Post-attack, all captured prisoners(men and women alike) are taken to a nearby village for human sacrifice. Boy, was that some sacrifice. Check the way they remove hearts from a live human and then behead him. During the entire walk from village to sacrificial land, Mel has captured excellent scenic beauty of jungle life, wild rivers, mountains, etc.

The second half of the film captures the marathon run of Mr. Paw back to his native jungle to rescue his preggie wife and cute kiddo from a barren well. The preggie lady acted quite well in her mini-rescue process of 2 kids(one inside and the other cute one outside) till her hubby returns after the long run.

There are few instances with which we Indian audience can relate to. For example, the emotional attachment of the husband with his wife and to-be born child. Also, as he runs back towards his village, he manages to kills all hunters one after another. Very much like our good old SRK. I guess this is where Mel couldn't make a mark, since the movie became more and more predictable and after some time, one can easily guess the climax of the film.

*Positives of the movie:

*Mel has managed to capture an excellent native subject matter in a magnificient way. It helps us identify with the follies of the current world with the way life existed around 16th century. The male-female relationship, individualistic personality, respect for leaders, etc. depict the master work of the director. The picturisation of the run-chase of "Jaguar"(the real one) behind our own "Jaguar" Paw really rocks.

Negatives of the movie:

The movie does have an adult rating. But I still believe not all adults would have the guts to sit through experiencing extreme brutality and come out of the movie hall in a proper state of mind. Citing one example, the first five minutes of the movie starts with a brutal tapiar hunt, after which all parts(including genitals) are ripped apart as a prize for individual efforts. Don't say Yuck! The movie does require an "M"(mature) rating. The storyline is very predictable.

Overall, the movie is for all those who are bored by seeing the usual sick comedy and boring romantic flicks. Want to see an original movie. Check Apocalypto!

If u escape the entire movie process, u say "Yeh Dil Maange More!"