Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama

Director: Mel Gilbson

Certificate: Apocalypto was rated 15A by the Irish Film Censor's Office (www.ifco.ie) i.e. suitable for those aged 15 or over. Those under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.

Violence = strong. Drugs = none. Sex/Nudity = mild. Language = moderate.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Apocalypto

It tells the story of Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) a young native warrior who along with his fellow villagers forms part of a tribe indigenous to the forests of Central America. It's an idyllic, innocent, and pure existence, as they live at one with nature in a world where they can see no real life beyond the village boundaries and the surrounding forest where they hunt for food to sustain themselves and their way of life.  This wonderful utopia is brutally shattered in one fell swoop when in the dying days of the Aztec civilisation the rulers decide the key to any future prosperity is to build more temples, and offer a greater number of human sacrifices, hence we see the Mayan equivalent of the 'Heavy Mob' creep into the village at dawn and either kill, maim or kidnap all its inhabitants, forcing Jaguar Paw to hide his pregnant wife and child as the violent chaos ensues.  He himself is eventually captured following some brave resistance, and the nucleus of the story revolves around his fight for survival, his attempts to return to find his family, and ultimately prevent his people from being wiped out totally.

The acting throughout is superior, the costumes and overall look of the film really hit the mark, however the violence is a tad overdone to say the least, (especially the scenes at the temple) and some of the camera angles didn't quite work for me either, there are a few clichés in there too just for good measure - such as an unrealistic childbirth scene, and a done-to-death waterfall jump which we've seen so many times before.  An arthouse movie it's not.  That said, I really cared about  the characters, and it's an exciting, visceral, and often hypnotic watch (leaving you breathless in some parts) with some fabulous chase scenes through the forests, and at almost two and a half hours didn't drag one bit.

To understand the present and the future we occasionally have to delve into our past, and this film allows us to do that to a certain degree, it's set in a time when human life was almost worthless, and the word 'civilised' as we know it  today did not exist, yet I found myself envying the simplistic manner in which these people led their lives, and for me the final scenes are the most poignant of all, (it reminded me very much of the one in Planet of the Apes)...  Apocalypto is well worth a watch but not for the squeamish.

Reviewed by Mary Kate, Premier Movie Reviews 2007.

RELATED MOVIE REVIEWS:  MEL GIBSON:  Signs,  The Passion Of The Christ,  The Patriot,  We Were Soldiers,  What Women Want.

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