"A curiously unique take on a traditional adventure chase film, Apocalypto is Gibson at his finest crafting a well immersed story that manages to make you invested in characters so different from the usual reality of the modern world.
Set at the end of the Mayan reign, the film follows members of a peaceful jungle tribe who are brutally assaulted and captured by other Mayans who wish to use them as ritual sacrifice to keep the masses at bay.
The slow build up showing us our protagonist's family and values as well as his interactions and camaraderie with the other males of his tribe never feels clunky or by the numbers; instead it's a fluid escalation that makes you care when they are captured - we share in the horror and awe as they are paraded through the chaotic Mayan city to a death with no meaning.
It's intense stuff, reinforced by an excellent mix of acting, set design, editing, sound mixing, and pacing.
The final act of the hunters becoming the hunted is a satisfying, foreshadowed crescendo that finishes with a well-earned payoff and completed character arc"
- 8/10
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