I was one of the lucky few to attend Fantastic Fest 06, a local film festival in Austin, Texas hosted by Ain’t It Cool News, and was granted V.I.P. status so the amount of films I could see was limited only by the amount of time my wife let me out of the house. Though Fantastic Fest deals mainly with independent films based on the horror and fantasy genres there were surprises in store for the V.I.P members.

One of these surprises was a sneak, very advanced screening of Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto - including a guest appearance by a very tired Mel to answer whatever questions we posed.

Now, Mel has been in the dog house as of late due to his drunken tirade and anti-Semitic rants, but, when I sat back to watch his film I had to convince myself that this film was completely devoid of personal bias. Once the film began rolling, I knew instantly that Mel had another hit on his hands. In the way Braveheart really showed Gibson’s prowess for filmmaking, Apocalytpo shows his utmost respect for the art.

Apocalypto, with an entirely novice cast, (some of the actors are actual villagers from around the area filming occurred) is a heart-pounding, riveting piece of work. We enter a world on the brink of change, focused on a tribal people who live in the shadows of the great Mayan civilization. Gibson’s film follows the last days of this community through the story of one lone man who is racing against all odds, time, and fate to save his family and survive the night.
To be slightly clearer: this movie is a long, drawn out, yet spectacular chase scene.

Despite being strikingly beautiful on film, the landscapes add extreme challenges as the protagonist of the piece rushes through water and brush in an effort to lose the Mayan enemy. This is truly an example of man versus nature.

Gibson will be criticized for the amount of violence in this film. It does not censor itself, which I appreciated. If you can’t handle the blood, then I would stray away from this movie, because it is jam-packed with brutalizing events left and right that most likely end in over the top bloodshed. But, don’t fool yourself, these were bloody times and no matter how many hands we shield our eyes with, the facts won’t change.

There are a few shortcomings to Apocalypto, one of which being the sheer believability factor, by this I mean: how many arrows can one man dodge?

Technical failures are prevalent as some of the music and editing simply don’t synch up at the appropriate moments and leave the viewer with a very detached view of the scene. Moments that were meant to be sincere and disparaging were simply left behind as an average scene which meant nothing to the plot.

But, as a whole, Apocalytpo is a very exciting film.
Give Gibson, the director, a chance. He really earns it here.

- J. H. Banks