Well….this is not for Rajshree, K Jo &
Yashraj(& Tom Cruise & Julia Roberts for that matter) fans . I’m sure most of the criticism have come from that frontI. t is for the ones who loved Kill Bill, adored Saw & went gagaover Sincerity . Also those who are allergic to subtitles should stay away as the entire movie is in Yucatec Mayan . Credit goes to Mel Gibson who before this has done an equally gory Passion of Christ in Aramaic to maintain authenticity . To start with, let me give you a small summary.
There is a small Mayan village in the midst of dense Yucatan forests dwelled by Jaguars & Tapirs . They spend their life happily hunting in the jungle & expects the same to continue till eternity. But soon the tragedy strikes, a pack of warriors suddenly attacks the village, massacres half of them & imprisons the rest after a
bloody ambush . Then begins a fatal & painful journey & finally they arrive in a huge Mayan city . There they finally discover the reason of their imprisonment . They were about to be sacrificed to quench the thirst of the great God Kukulkan to save the decaying civilization threatened by plague and other epidemics .
The events unfold quickly after this, the hero of the story, Jaguar Paw, escapes from the tyrants & then begins a relentless & breathtaking chase through the treacherous Yucatan terrains full of jungles, marshes, waterfalls won’t disclose the climax, but I can assure you that it is nail biting & engrossing . Coming back to the qualitative aspects of the movie, it is a trademark Mel Gibson flick with plenty of action & bloodshed . But as an accomplished filmmaker he never lets the story to be overshadowed by action . The sets, costumes & makeup etc are very authentically done . The medieval chase sequence with robust men running barefoot will beat any modern one involving cars & aircrafts .
The background music is haunting & has an Indian touch. The crude humours, specially the one involving Tapir balls complement the dark mood of the movie well . The new actors namely Rudy Youngblood as Jaguar Paw & the beautiful Dalia Hernandez as his wife have done a commendable job .Having said all these, the movie has also had its share of controversies like any other Gibson film . Specially distortion of Native American history & depiction of Mayans as a brutal & pervert tribe has raised concerns . Because the kind of human sacrifice it has shown, is more close to the Aztecs than the Mayans . Also it shows Spanish conquistadors arriving at the end as if they were angels of peace .
But the fact is that the Columbus’s, Pizzaros & Cortezes were no less brutal . They utilized their advantage of having guns & annihilated all the Indian Civilizations namely Mayan, Aztec & Incas . So this is where the film falters a bit . But I will still give it four out of five as reconstructing a civilization that was lost 500 years ago is no child’s play . I watched it twice in the multiplex & would advice you to do the same .