Gibson deserves mad credit for: Choosing this setting to explore; using real languages; indigenous casting; going all-out on the cinematography. It's not a common subject in big-budget filmmaking, and authentic language (even when the language is modern) is exceedingly rare for box office reasons. That said, it's definitely not a history lesson. More a window into the general spirit and feeling of the civilizations it looks at. It also opts for mysticism over human motivation, which is engaging to see, but a bit of a cop-out.
Unfortunately, you've missed Gibson's point. He wasn't concerned about anything you just covered. This movie is literally, from Gibson's own mouth, a cautionary tale about a society becoming so morally corrupt and war hungry, that their downfall is inevitable. The Mayans are shown butchering the tribes they conqured, not because this is a documentary, but because you now see that the union of the tribes and the Spaniards is now locked in stone, the tides have turned. Gibson's point is that unnecessary wars/brutality leads to enemies. It is his commentary on the US Iraq war, NOT the Mayan culture.
@@rjdalchow And the Romans spoke Classical Latin. I really appreciated that. See the Netflix series "Barbarians" for another excellent example of Roman characters speaking real language.
The movie isn't very historically or culturally accurate to what the Mayans were, but it does do away with the "noble savage" trope. This movie shows the Mayan culture on the decline through deforestation and the heavy use of lye in their building that would run off and poison the soil (crop failure). This coupled with overcrowding and bad diet led to disease. The ruling class uses religion and knowledge (the head priest knew the solar eclipse was going to happen and staged his ceremony to use it as a prop) to keep the struggling underclass distracted and appeased. Gibson was basically saying whether the Europeans landed or not, the Mayan culture was doomed through cultural decadence and environmental pollution. The city centers were growing too large to sustain the population and the smaller forest tribes (shown as being rugged, but doing ok) were used as slaves to buttress up the decaying city states. The Mayans weren't a nation or culture as we understand those words now. They were a loose collection of tribes within a geographic area. Some banded together, others lived on their own. They often shared a language, but dialects were probably divisional like in other parts of the world. The Mayan "culture" wasn't universally observed in the Mayan territory. Tribes had their own interpretation of ideas and myths. The large city states are where most of our knowledge comes from through artifacts and Spanish writing, but that doesn't make it universally practiced.
By the way you were also right about the "apocalypse" theory at the beginning of your video because at the end of the movie they showed the Spanish ships arriving to the New World, signaling the beginning of the end of a culture(s).
Fun fact: Rudy Youngblood (Jaguar Paw) is from my hometown, and he shares my last name (tho he changed it to that while I was born with it). He was a few years ahead of me in school but if memory serves correct he was a track star, so while he probably eventually would have been caught by the jaguar, I'm sure he could hold his own how he did in that scene.
@@ikikuraz yeah Belton and Temple both don't have alot of famous alums in the grand scheme of things, but we do have some hidden gems. Like George Eads (Nick from the original CSI) from Belton and Rip Torn (Zed from MIB) from Temple.
Apparently when the Spaniards landed, there really were only two natives on the beach, and the Spaniards were never able to figure out what the two guys were doing there. So this movie takes that historical factoid and builds a possible back story behind it. And it wasn't really the height of Mayan culture, but rather a resurgent sliver long past the peak. The inhabitants probably didn't actually build the city, but rather had repopulated it after decades of abandonment and neglect.
It's even a bit less accurate than that. In fact this mixes up Mayan and Aztec culture a bit...which is fine, in the sense that this movie is sort of telling an overarching story about clashing cultures (tribe vs Empire, Empire vs Empire), human motivations (from greed to love of family to exploration to religion) and a personal story about one man's struggle to keep him and his family alive. It's a great film.
When cortes landed (against the crown) they encountered the tlaxcaltecas and were almost killed. Then the tlaxcaltecas allied ro the spaniards to overthrow the aztecs.
@@barreloffun10 Never said they didn't know how. But why build one, when there's already an abandoned one nearby where all you've gotta do is clear the flora.
@@meminustherandomgooglenumbers Because after just a few years without maintenance the flora and the environment make even stone structures start to crumble. Compare the unrestored sides of the pyramid at Chitzen Itza to the two sides they restored for the tourists. And most of the buildings are not stone but wood, and that rots pretty quick.
Hands down, this is one of my top ten. Gibson did a wonderful job with this one. Came out around the same time “10,000 BC” came out. Both are very similar in a lot of ways, but this one edges it out though. IMO. Loved your critique and analysis of this gem. Assimilating it to the world we live in today. Kudos to you.
I can't believe how much this movie feels like a documentary sometimes. Great movie! Regardless what you think of Mel Gibson, I think his greatest movies are between this one, Braveheart, and Passion of Christ. Yes, yes, Patriot and even Lethal weapon are very good too. But these three...chef's kiss.
@@tfpp1 Fair enough. I've seen all of them except I could never watch Passion all the way through. But that's partly because I'm not religious any more (so lack of interest in the subject) and because let's face it: Mel made a very disturbing movie in order to show Christ's sacrifice.
As a Scot with a passion for Scottish history, it's so depressing when people cite Braveheart as a good or great movie,...one of the worst 'historical-fantasy' dramas ever, and a hideous portrayal of great men into cartoon parodies.
@@lonewanderer3456 Such tis the fate of most great battles or great political movements, even. People care more about legendary moments and people and the people playing people (Star power) than they do historical accuracy
This is such a good movie. Mel sure loves his violence in movies. I hope he keeps making movies behind the camera more. He's doing a western next apparently, he was going to make a Viking movie which would have been good
His idea here is to show these 'savages' and how primitive he thinks they are, in contrast with how much better off they'll be after being conquered by the Spanish. It's the ultimate Christian missionary movie: The violent heathens need to accept Christ as their savior, and everything will be so much better... SMH.
@@hannahpumpkins4359 Yeah, you pretty much got nothing right there. The appearance of the Spanish is not a "here comes the saviors" moment, it's a "their doom is here". If you miss all of the other under currents in this movie, that one should be easy from the ending, where Jaguar Paw says not to go the the Spanish but find new land in the trees.
Movie symbolizes karma. Notice how the Natives who chased the pig got chased themselves and hunted. The main character who actually killed the pig in the beginning was chased the whole movie. Then the Mayans got their bad karma from the Spaniards for killing the Natives. Fish eats a smaller fish, then gets eaten by a bigger fish, who then gets eaten by a bigger fish. This is the real Apocalypse, karma. Real reason it's called Apocalypto. The rulers of our world throw truth in our face.
Glad to hear who correlate this movie into what's going on today, most reactors seem to avoid that topic.Perhaps you might check out V for Vendetta if you haven't done so. It's a great movie to watch, especially now.
People were critical of Mel Gibson and this film, believing that he was trying to justify the conquistadors But, the Aztecs were cruel and so oppressive that the 300 or so Spaniards were joined by tens of thousands of native tribes against the Aztec empire.
People forget that they were already astonishingly knowledgeable about astronomy. They held power over the people because they knew about eclipses and other celestial "signs" that terrorized the populace. I'm a first-timer here and wanna say, i completely enjoyed ur reaction to this movie.
I think this is one of gibson's major achievements. I am curious about the ending: considering his very catholic religious beliefs, if he suggests that the reveal means 'coming salvation'? I almost laughed out loud because my first thought was 'hlysht you don't know what's coming!"
Catholic or Atheist the ending was pretty obvious. It was a portend of the end of their way of lives. Jaguar Paw struggled to live in the Aztec/Mayan way but here comes an even worse fate.
But based on the quote at the beginning, it's obvious that a sort of judgement (whether you want to consider it divine or not is up to you) came upon a waning civilization because a mass amount of innocent blood was being shed and injustice was pervasive.
The landing of Conquistadors changed the whole future of the natives, an Apocalypse of sorts. Millions of natives will die and be enslaved by a practically alien (European Spaniard) culture and civilization.
This was a fantastic movie to watch since I love Maya history, architecture and culture. The final part, watching their reaction to the arrival of Diego Velazquez and the Spanish expedition, with the music and the ships, still gives me goosebumps. If you liked this movie and since October is just around the corner, you should check out the Ridley Scott movie "1492: Conquest Of Paradise."
"True to the history" would be an overstatement. He makes a respectable effort, unlike with Braveheart. The full reality is that this mashes together several different civilizations who barely knew each other at their respective heights, in the interests of being representative. It's also very simplified, showing just one all-powerful city-state raiding hunter-gatherer villages who know nothing about it. There were a number of cities all over the region, with a lot of bitter history between them. The "paradise lost" storytelling is one of Gibson's little bailiwicks, but isn't close to history.
@@dudermcdudeface3674 wellllll acctuaaalllllyyy...its a movie, not a documentary. Its about ONE mans story. Of course it wouldn’t show more than the specific city he’s brought to. Its made for entertainment. I love history too, but you can’t deny that its entertaining as hell.
@@dudermcdudeface3674 Obviously he's a movie director who is going to take liberties in telling a story. He mixed Mayan and Aztec facts but was true to the Mayan core history. I think you're mistaking movies with documentaries.
Yea, this movie is ferocious. Think about how easy we have it now even in our hardest days of suffering. It's probably still like this in some countries.
I like to read and study Spanish history and you can't learn that without touching on the Aztecs and Mayans so of course I enjoyed this movie. Although I watched it with fascination, I forgot that it could be disturbing for others to view. Glad you still enjoyed it without being too haunted by it. 💕☺️
27:46 Phooey! I was waiting for, "No matter how bad things get, it could be worse - you could have your heart ripped out and head cut off on top of a temple." The Maya didn't have an empire. Rather, there were a bunch of city-states that struggle with each other. The human sacrifice thing pre-dates Maya civilizational decadence; it had been happening since the pre-classical period. The word "apocalypse" means "revelation" in Greek. We only associate it with the "end times" because the last book of the Bible in which they are described is titled "Apocalypsis Ioannou." This has nothing to do with the film, it is just a hobby horse of mine. Nevertheless, the movie is apocalyptic in the contemporary sense of the word, because the movie depicts the "end times" for the Maya; within the first fifty years after contact with the Spanish in the 16th Century, Maya civilization had been destroyed - their world had ended (just as the creepy prophet girl foresaw). However, the Maya people are still around in the Yucatan, and many still speak Maya. For a while in the 1990's, they (or at least some of them) formed a paramilitary organization, called the Zapatistas to fight the Mexican government, although in more recent times, this group has turned into more of a political party.
Apocalypse is always revelation. for those who live in lies, revelation is death. for those who live in truth, there are no end times. that is the ultimate message of the film.
Many say that the MAYAS disappeared... but it is not like that, they still exist and live in Guatemala and Mexico they are descendants of that great civilization👍👍👍
Apocalypto was one of the best movies of all time, If you paid attention! The Mayans were one of the most advanced societies of ancient history. Unfortunately, most societies were built on the backs of slaves.
Fun fact: The Maya were excellent astronomers. The priests knew the eclipse was coming. The blood sacrifice was just a show for the masses, to give them hope.
I'm not tech-savy. My first view of this, then bought movie, was without subtitles. It still worked. I remain grateful for my ignorance. Some stuff doesn't need interpretation. Fab movie.
One reason the Aztecs fell was because they did raid neighboring tribes for their sacrifices and when the Spaniards arrived, they got help from those tribes to conquer the Aztecs.
From Anadarko Oklahoma.... in high school our Native American club got to go watch an early screening, & my home girl got kissed on the cheek by Mel, they put a pic in our local paper. 2 other classic Native movies are Thunderheart & Smoke Signals
A realistic and raw case of andventure of life and death by the mighty Mel Gibson , based in true elements of story about Mayas and Aztecs ! Great movie , great cast and epic scenes!! So about epic soundtrack by James Horner , RIP!!
According to Mel Gibson in one interview after the movie's release, this was intended as a cautionary tale for us -- for everybody, really. It is possible for a civilization to completely disappear. It has happened throughout history many times. The Hittites, The Trojans, The Carthaginians, the Mayans, The Aztecs.
This actually happened. The Mayans, in response to a very long, severe drought, started expanding and killing their neighbors so they would have the water. They had lots of these pyramids and would ritualistically kill huge number of people each day. They really invented genocide! This was all just before the Spanish arrived, and they'd killed off something like 80% of their population. They basically made themselves far easier to conquer.
Awesome movie choice Madison. Have another for you just because of a similar name and a jungle setting and that's "Apocalypse Now" (1979). And of course do the original theatrical release version before watching that longer extended one that really slows down the movie. It's a Francis Coppola movie who actually does a kinda funny cameo with lines in it, so be looking out for that if you watch it. Coppola is best known for The Godfather movies, ones you should do someday soon especially Part 1 and Part 2, both excellent! ✌️😎
The Tlaxcalans saw the Spaniards as an opportunity to ally with them and use their advanced technology, such as firearms and cavalry, in order to defeat their Aztec enemies. By joining the Spanish in the conquest of Mexico, the Tlaxcalans were able to take revenge on the Aztecs and secure their independence and autonomy in the region. Thanks to their support for Spain, the Tlaxcalans obtained benefits such as the recognition of their territory as an autonomous entity within the viceroyalty of New Spain.
The saying of "I hate that guy" rings true thru the movie with the viewer as the gang that chases the main character die one by one. Ultimate survival movie if there ever was one
I haven't been struggling with fear for the last year and a half, I don't know what you're talking about. I do love this movie though, and I enjoyed your reaction, other than your ending remarks about fear.
For 15 years I have thought to myself, I should watch that Mel Gibson movie with the Mayans and for 15 years, it has been shoved to the side by circumstance....I do believe NOW I will need to actually go and watch it.... Another great reaction video, Madison! If you are feeling like a western style comedy to help decompress from THIS movie, (and if you haven't watched it yet) may I suggest another Mel Gibson film, called Maverick....Gibson is a poker playing cowboy type and Jodie Foster is his love interest slash poker nemesis.....very funny, very enjoyable film, in my opinion.
Notice how the main character who killed the pig in the beginning got chased the whole movie. And the ones who helped him chase the pig all got chased. Then the Mayans got their bad karma from the Spaniards for doing what they did to the Natives. This is the real reason the movie is called Apocalypto. Slavery happened to the races including Irish, Native Americans, Blacks because of karma from killing and eating animals.
Your emotions are one of the only things in the World you have almost complete control of. Don't outsource their management to anybody else, particularly those who wish to use them to control you.
Gibson's middle name is intensity. This is his follow up to Passion of the Christ. Both are intense. If you haven't seen The Passion give it a look. These are great films by a great filmaker
Oh... need hurry up and watch this before the RUclips police confiscate the goods.. sorry, hopefully they don't see this comment 😁.. p.s. you're doing a great job..
I will say this, I think we , as a society, should be very careful about sliding into the abyss. Will see what happens over the next few years. Hope for the best and prep for the worst.
It would be fair to say, that the arrival of the European did in fact bring an end to these civilizations, but the hidden point here is, that white man also brought science, universities, a juricidal system, technical innovations, hospitals and much-much more, apart from the inherent backside of the medal. This is an important point because, as you might know, if it weren't for the 1800's and 1900's European, these kind of societies would have lived on to this day all around the Globe. You probably don't know this, but go research the Ashanti Tribe/Asanti Kingdom from the Ivory-Gold Coast of Africa. They saw an opportunity and builded an entire society and power structure, based on murdering and capturing slaves, as more or less depicted in this movie, for the sole purpose of selling slaves to the Europeans back in the day. Black man sold black man. And again, the arguments for prohibiting slavery did build up within the English/British law making process, so they banned it and tried to patrol the African coastlines, much to the annoyance of the Arabs. It's quite funny how they've managed all over the Western hemisphere and Westernized countries, to avoid any mentioning of the Arab Slave Trade or how the entire Ottoman Empire from the North African coastline raided the mediterranian ocean and Western European coastline all the way to the Netherlands, Great Britain, Faero Islands and Iceland in their hunt for goods, ships and yes...slaves. Entire villages were raided. And down along the East African coastline, hence why Zanzibar to this day in majority is Islamic the Arabs plundred, raided, murdered and captured slaves for the markets. Many of which were brought to what today is know as India, but back then, before the East India Company managed to get a stronghold in fact was brutally dominated by Islamic/Muslim lords/rulers. A Danish explorer who was onbard one the British patrolling ships writes of how, just in a mere few years time, entire villages and peoples for miles and miles along and especially inwards from the East African coast were wiped out. Completely depopulated. Unrecognizable. Good luck with your reseach. You bet 'ya......it freaking interesting.
Hello , thanks for this reaction. I haven’t seen it but I know that You’ll do nice reactions, specially at the end of the film. Thank You and I’m a subscriber since today. Hello from hermosillo sonora mexico.
The only mistake in the movie is that the Mexican and Central American cultures knew the stars very well, even better than Europe, they knew when there would be eclipses and it would not be a surprise as it seemed
As someone with Spaniard ancestry, it was cool to see the Spanish ships arriving to the new world. They were one of the most advanced civilizations at the time, and made huge advancements in exploration
You use the ant's heads as sutures. Get the ant to bite either side of the wound, clamping it together. Pull the body off the head, and voila! (A Kuna indian friend from Panama told me this.)
Underrated movie. Mel is an awesome director, kinda wish he was more active
The most impressive thing about Mel is that he learned filmmaking without going to film school
Only through observation
Like Steven Spielberg
Ressurection is COMMING!
Who under-rated it?
Gibson deserves mad credit for: Choosing this setting to explore; using real languages; indigenous casting; going all-out on the cinematography. It's not a common subject in big-budget filmmaking, and authentic language (even when the language is modern) is exceedingly rare for box office reasons. That said, it's definitely not a history lesson. More a window into the general spirit and feeling of the civilizations it looks at. It also opts for mysticism over human motivation, which is engaging to see, but a bit of a cop-out.
Unfortunately, you've missed Gibson's point. He wasn't concerned about anything you just covered. This movie is literally, from Gibson's own mouth, a cautionary tale about a society becoming so morally corrupt and war hungry, that their downfall is inevitable. The Mayans are shown butchering the tribes they conqured, not because this is a documentary, but because you now see that the union of the tribes and the Spaniards is now locked in stone, the tides have turned. Gibson's point is that unnecessary wars/brutality leads to enemies. It is his commentary on the US Iraq war, NOT the Mayan culture.
I think you were a little tough on the op. Good critique. Great movie though
And in the Passion of the Christ, they spoke Aramaic. Eagerly awaiting the sequel.
@@rjdalchow And the Romans spoke Classical Latin. I really appreciated that. See the Netflix series "Barbarians" for another excellent example of Roman characters speaking real language.
The movie isn't very historically or culturally accurate to what the Mayans were, but it does do away with the "noble savage" trope. This movie shows the Mayan culture on the decline through deforestation and the heavy use of lye in their building that would run off and poison the soil (crop failure). This coupled with overcrowding and bad diet led to disease. The ruling class uses religion and knowledge (the head priest knew the solar eclipse was going to happen and staged his ceremony to use it as a prop) to keep the struggling underclass distracted and appeased. Gibson was basically saying whether the Europeans landed or not, the Mayan culture was doomed through cultural decadence and environmental pollution. The city centers were growing too large to sustain the population and the smaller forest tribes (shown as being rugged, but doing ok) were used as slaves to buttress up the decaying city states. The Mayans weren't a nation or culture as we understand those words now. They were a loose collection of tribes within a geographic area. Some banded together, others lived on their own. They often shared a language, but dialects were probably divisional like in other parts of the world. The Mayan "culture" wasn't universally observed in the Mayan territory. Tribes had their own interpretation of ideas and myths. The large city states are where most of our knowledge comes from through artifacts and Spanish writing, but that doesn't make it universally practiced.
By the way you were also right about the "apocalypse" theory at the beginning of your video because at the end of the movie they showed the Spanish ships arriving to the New World, signaling the beginning of the end of a culture(s).
And Jaguar Paw lead them to their death in the end just like the little girl foretold Mayas.
Fun fact: Rudy Youngblood (Jaguar Paw) is from my hometown, and he shares my last name (tho he changed it to that while I was born with it). He was a few years ahead of me in school but if memory serves correct he was a track star, so while he probably eventually would have been caught by the jaguar, I'm sure he could hold his own how he did in that scene.
That was fun.
Im from Temple, Tx. Wasnt till a few years ago that i found out Rudy was from Belton. Right? Pretty cool.
@@ikikuraz yeah Belton and Temple both don't have alot of famous alums in the grand scheme of things, but we do have some hidden gems. Like George Eads (Nick from the original CSI) from Belton and Rip Torn (Zed from MIB) from Temple.
I am from Belton TX also. I now live in the Philippines.
@@The_Bleeze Ricky Sanders (ex-WR Washington Redskins) is from Belton also. I believe that Mean Joe Greene is from Temple.
Apparently when the Spaniards landed, there really were only two natives on the beach, and the Spaniards were never able to figure out what the two guys were doing there. So this movie takes that historical factoid and builds a possible back story behind it. And it wasn't really the height of Mayan culture, but rather a resurgent sliver long past the peak. The inhabitants probably didn't actually build the city, but rather had repopulated it after decades of abandonment and neglect.
It's even a bit less accurate than that. In fact this mixes up Mayan and Aztec culture a bit...which is fine, in the sense that this movie is sort of telling an overarching story about clashing cultures (tribe vs Empire, Empire vs Empire), human motivations (from greed to love of family to exploration to religion) and a personal story about one man's struggle to keep him and his family alive. It's a great film.
When cortes landed (against the crown) they encountered the tlaxcaltecas and were almost killed. Then the tlaxcaltecas allied ro the spaniards to overthrow the aztecs.
Postclassical Mayans definitively knew how to build their own cities.
@@barreloffun10 Never said they didn't know how. But why build one, when there's already an abandoned one nearby where all you've gotta do is clear the flora.
@@meminustherandomgooglenumbers Because after just a few years without maintenance the flora and the environment make even stone structures start to crumble. Compare the unrestored sides of the pyramid at Chitzen Itza to the two sides they restored for the tourists. And most of the buildings are not stone but wood, and that rots pretty quick.
"Nothing is so much to be feared as fear" - Henry David Thoreau
"Fear is the Mind Killer..." (Dune) Frank Herbert. I actually live by the Bene Gesserit: Litany Against Fear.
Horasio Nelson
What is fear father?
Courage overcomes fear.
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." - FDR (And spiders.)
Hands down, this is one of my top ten. Gibson did a wonderful job with this one. Came out around the same time “10,000 BC” came out. Both are very similar in a lot of ways, but this one edges it out though. IMO. Loved your critique and analysis of this gem. Assimilating it to the world we live in today. Kudos to you.
LOL what? 10,000 BC is one of the worst films I've ever seen. Apocalypto is a masterpiece.
I can't believe how much this movie feels like a documentary sometimes. Great movie!
Regardless what you think of Mel Gibson, I think his greatest movies are between this one, Braveheart, and Passion of Christ. Yes, yes, Patriot and even Lethal weapon are very good too. But these three...chef's kiss.
You forgot Hacksaw Ridge.
@@remo27 Well, I was only listing movies I've seen. ;-)
@@tfpp1 Fair enough. I've seen all of them except I could never watch Passion all the way through. But that's partly because I'm not religious any more (so lack of interest in the subject) and because let's face it: Mel made a very disturbing movie in order to show Christ's sacrifice.
As a Scot with a passion for Scottish history, it's so depressing when people cite Braveheart as a good or great movie,...one of the worst 'historical-fantasy' dramas ever, and a hideous portrayal of great men into cartoon parodies.
@@lonewanderer3456 Such tis the fate of most great battles or great political movements, even. People care more about legendary moments and people and the people playing people (Star power) than they do historical accuracy
This is such a good movie. Mel sure loves his violence in movies. I hope he keeps making movies behind the camera more. He's doing a western next apparently, he was going to make a Viking movie which would have been good
His idea here is to show these 'savages' and how primitive he thinks they are, in contrast with how much better off they'll be after being conquered by the Spanish. It's the ultimate Christian missionary movie: The violent heathens need to accept Christ as their savior, and everything will be so much better... SMH.
@@hannahpumpkins4359 the fuck movie did you watch?
@@hannahpumpkins4359 Yeah, you pretty much got nothing right there. The appearance of the Spanish is not a "here comes the saviors" moment, it's a "their doom is here". If you miss all of the other under currents in this movie, that one should be easy from the ending, where Jaguar Paw says not to go the the Spanish but find new land in the trees.
Movie symbolizes karma. Notice how the Natives who chased the pig got chased themselves and hunted. The main character who actually killed the pig in the beginning was chased the whole movie. Then the Mayans got their bad karma from the Spaniards for killing the Natives. Fish eats a smaller fish, then gets eaten by a bigger fish, who then gets eaten by a bigger fish. This is the real Apocalypse, karma. Real reason it's called Apocalypto. The rulers of our world throw truth in our face.
@@Mauther “their doom is here” alongside civilization
This is the third video of yours I've watched, and I must say your reactions and comments are by far the best. Thank you.
Glad to hear who correlate this movie into what's going on today, most reactors seem to avoid that topic.Perhaps you might check out V for Vendetta if you haven't done so. It's a great movie to watch, especially now.
People were critical of Mel Gibson and this film, believing that he was trying to justify the conquistadors
But, the Aztecs were cruel and so oppressive that the 300 or so Spaniards were joined by tens of thousands of native tribes against the Aztec empire.
Very profound and honest summary of the underlying message at the end of your reaction. First time checking out your channel. Thank you!
Really enjoying the movie selection. Apocalypto is in my top 5 movies. You can't go wrong with Mel Gibson films.
People forget that they were already astonishingly knowledgeable about astronomy. They held power over the people because they knew about eclipses and other celestial "signs" that terrorized the populace. I'm a first-timer here and wanna say, i completely enjoyed ur reaction to this movie.
Good on you for trying something unique. I don't get the hate with this movie. It's something different, I love that. Thanks for taking a chance.
I think this is one of gibson's major achievements.
I am curious about the ending: considering his very catholic religious beliefs, if he suggests that the reveal means 'coming salvation'? I almost laughed out loud because my first thought was 'hlysht you don't know what's coming!"
Why? What was coming? I don't think you are as educated as you think you are.
Catholic or Atheist the ending was pretty obvious. It was a portend of the end of their way of lives. Jaguar Paw struggled to live in the Aztec/Mayan way but here comes an even worse fate.
But based on the quote at the beginning, it's obvious that a sort of judgement (whether you want to consider it divine or not is up to you) came upon a waning civilization because a mass amount of innocent blood was being shed and injustice was pervasive.
The landing of Conquistadors changed the whole future of the natives, an Apocalypse of sorts. Millions of natives will die and be enslaved by a practically alien (European Spaniard) culture and civilization.
@@sca88 But now we have Mexicans, and I love Mexicans. And Mexican food and culture. God has the ability to turn evil into future good.
This was a fantastic movie to watch since I love Maya history, architecture and culture. The final part, watching their reaction to the arrival of Diego Velazquez and the Spanish expedition, with the music and the ships, still gives me goosebumps. If you liked this movie and since October is just around the corner, you should check out the Ridley Scott movie "1492: Conquest Of Paradise."
I think it was Pedro de alvarado.
Both of you are wrong. It was Hernán Cortez arriving in the Yucatán peninsula
If you really did like the mayas you wouldnt care about this film since its all wrong...
They are not Mayas. the Mayans and the Incas were already extinct a long time ago.
@@kappa2ou3 the maya people is different from the maya civilization; the maya people are pretty much still alive
One of the most intense movies ever ....i was at the edge of my seat the entire movie when i saw it .
Mel Gibson is a genius. Not only does he shows the horrors of war but he's true to the history.
"True to the history" would be an overstatement. He makes a respectable effort, unlike with Braveheart. The full reality is that this mashes together several different civilizations who barely knew each other at their respective heights, in the interests of being representative. It's also very simplified, showing just one all-powerful city-state raiding hunter-gatherer villages who know nothing about it. There were a number of cities all over the region, with a lot of bitter history between them. The "paradise lost" storytelling is one of Gibson's little bailiwicks, but isn't close to history.
@@dudermcdudeface3674 wellllll acctuaaalllllyyy...its a movie, not a documentary. Its about ONE mans story. Of course it wouldn’t show more than the specific city he’s brought to. Its made for entertainment. I love history too, but you can’t deny that its entertaining as hell.
I corrected 2 people in Comments for being idiots. You however, get a high five. And yes, the overall historocity is accurate. Abridged, but accurate.
@@dudermcdudeface3674 Obviously he's a movie director who is going to take liberties in telling a story. He mixed Mayan and Aztec facts but was true to the Mayan core history. I think you're mistaking movies with documentaries.
The movie represents the collapse of mayan civilization. Thats happened 1000 years before Columbus boyage.
I love that even though this was intense and gory to watch you stuck through it and gave a meaningful interpretation and reaction.
Yea, this movie is ferocious. Think about how easy we have it now even in our hardest days of suffering. It's probably still like this in some countries.
I like to read and study Spanish history and you can't learn that without touching on the Aztecs and Mayans so of course I enjoyed this movie. Although I watched it with fascination, I forgot that it could be disturbing for others to view. Glad you still enjoyed it without being too haunted by it. 💕☺️
27:46 Phooey! I was waiting for, "No matter how bad things get, it could be worse - you could have your heart ripped out and head cut off on top of a temple."
The Maya didn't have an empire. Rather, there were a bunch of city-states that struggle with each other. The human sacrifice thing pre-dates Maya civilizational decadence; it had been happening since the pre-classical period.
The word "apocalypse" means "revelation" in Greek. We only associate it with the "end times" because the last book of the Bible in which they are described is titled "Apocalypsis Ioannou." This has nothing to do with the film, it is just a hobby horse of mine. Nevertheless, the movie is apocalyptic in the contemporary sense of the word, because the movie depicts the "end times" for the Maya; within the first fifty years after contact with the Spanish in the 16th Century, Maya civilization had been destroyed - their world had ended (just as the creepy prophet girl foresaw). However, the Maya people are still around in the Yucatan, and many still speak Maya. For a while in the 1990's, they (or at least some of them) formed a paramilitary organization, called the Zapatistas to fight the Mexican government, although in more recent times, this group has turned into more of a political party.
Thanks for the excellent and insightful comment.
Apocalypse is always revelation. for those who live in lies, revelation is death. for those who live in truth, there are no end times. that is the ultimate message of the film.
Many say that the MAYAS disappeared... but it is not like that, they still exist and live in Guatemala and Mexico they are descendants of that great civilization👍👍👍
Apocalypto was one of the best movies of all time, If you paid attention!
The Mayans were one of the most advanced societies of ancient history.
Unfortunately, most societies were built on the backs of slaves.
Excellent reaction.. you are one of the few who understands the message the movie was sending.
nice reaction. Mel actually picked non-professional actors for all the major roles.
Love the Hylian shield! I wear a triforce pendant and an ocarina on my belt loops at all times. I can actually play my ocarina pretty decent too.
Ronaldinho did very good acting.
I know a lot of people like Braveheart but I think this easily is his best film!
This is an incredible film
Since I read it in a comment years ago, now I just hear the same sentence hahah he just said "come on in" at 4:15 xDDD
Fun fact: The Maya were excellent astronomers. The priests knew the eclipse was coming. The blood sacrifice was just a show for the masses, to give them hope.
I'm not tech-savy. My first view of this, then bought movie, was without subtitles. It still worked. I remain grateful for my ignorance. Some stuff doesn't need interpretation. Fab movie.
Hi, Madison. Just find out about your channel. Great reaction, looking forward to more movies.
This is one of my favorite movies, I enjoyed your reaction to it.
One reason the Aztecs fell was because they did raid neighboring tribes for their sacrifices and when the Spaniards arrived, they got help from those tribes to conquer the Aztecs.
Mel Gibson knows how to act and make movies, thats for sure. This movie is a classic, a masterpiece.
You missed the point of the ants on the wound. They were using them as staples in place of stitches.
Gracias a Dios aun siguen mayas en la selva del sur de mi amada patria México
Just found ur channel.. anyone tell u, u look like that lady with the trained raven? Anyway great content.. will check out ur other reactions!
From Anadarko Oklahoma.... in high school our Native American club got to go watch an early screening, & my home girl got kissed on the cheek by Mel, they put a pic in our local paper. 2 other classic Native movies are Thunderheart & Smoke Signals
A realistic and raw case of andventure of life and death by the mighty Mel Gibson , based in true elements of story about Mayas and Aztecs ! Great movie , great cast and epic scenes!! So about epic soundtrack by James Horner , RIP!!
Loved your comments on society, fear, depravity, etc. Uncommon wisdom for our time.
Liked, commented and subscribed.
According to Mel Gibson in one interview after the movie's release, this was intended as a cautionary tale for us -- for everybody, really. It is possible for a civilization to completely disappear. It has happened throughout history many times. The Hittites, The Trojans, The Carthaginians, the Mayans, The Aztecs.
This actually happened. The Mayans, in response to a very long, severe drought, started expanding and killing their neighbors so they would have the water. They had lots of these pyramids and would ritualistically kill huge number of people each day. They really invented genocide!
This was all just before the Spanish arrived, and they'd killed off something like 80% of their population. They basically made themselves far easier to conquer.
Great reaction, this movie is a hidden gem for sure
Awesome movie choice Madison. Have another for you just because of a similar name and a jungle setting and that's "Apocalypse Now" (1979). And of course do the original theatrical release version before watching that longer extended one that really slows down the movie. It's a Francis Coppola movie who actually does a kinda funny cameo with lines in it, so be looking out for that if you watch it. Coppola is best known for The Godfather movies, ones you should do someday soon especially Part 1 and Part 2, both excellent! ✌️😎
The Tlaxcalans saw the Spaniards as an opportunity to ally with them and use their advanced technology, such as firearms and cavalry, in order to defeat their Aztec enemies. By joining the Spanish in the conquest of Mexico, the Tlaxcalans were able to take revenge on the Aztecs and secure their independence and autonomy in the region. Thanks to their support for Spain, the Tlaxcalans obtained benefits such as the recognition of their territory as an autonomous entity within the viceroyalty of New Spain.
I mustve watched this movie 100x.. Such an underrated film!
Its a masterpiece.
I Wish they made a Part of this Movie when the Spaniards Arrived and how they Ravage the Whole South America
The saying of "I hate that guy" rings true thru the movie with the viewer as the gang that chases the main character die one by one. Ultimate survival movie if there ever was one
Gibson is a brilliant filmmaker.
I haven't been struggling with fear for the last year and a half, I don't know what you're talking about. I do love this movie though, and I enjoyed your reaction, other than your ending remarks about fear.
For 15 years I have thought to myself, I should watch that Mel Gibson movie with the Mayans and for 15 years, it has been shoved to the side by circumstance....I do believe NOW I will need to actually go and watch it....
Another great reaction video, Madison! If you are feeling like a western style comedy to help decompress from THIS movie, (and if you haven't watched it yet) may I suggest another Mel Gibson film, called Maverick....Gibson is a poker playing cowboy type and Jodie Foster is his love interest slash poker nemesis.....very funny, very enjoyable film, in my opinion.
Notice how the main character who killed the pig in the beginning got chased the whole movie. And the ones who helped him chase the pig all got chased. Then the Mayans got their bad karma from the Spaniards for doing what they did to the Natives. This is the real reason the movie is called Apocalypto. Slavery happened to the races including Irish, Native Americans, Blacks because of karma from killing and eating animals.
One of my favourite films ever.
Your emotions are one of the only things in the World you have almost complete control of.
Don't outsource their management to anybody else, particularly those who wish to use them to control you.
Thank you for reacting to one of my favourite movies. Hope you can turn your hobby in to a profession in the near future 👍
Gibson's middle name is intensity. This is his follow up to Passion of the Christ. Both are intense. If you haven't seen The Passion give it a look. These are great films by a great filmaker
I like apocalypto but Passion of the Christ definitely has anti semitic umdertones which shouldn't be overlooked you can still enjoy the film.
Great review and what you shared at the end! Thank you!
@@keebmarketing Thank you🙏🏻 Glad you enjoyed it!
My first time watching it was last night❤️🔥 Cept I didn’t have a voice over or subtitles watching it. But it was a dope experience🔏
Great great film both of them thanks for doing both
Oh... need hurry up and watch this before the RUclips police confiscate the goods.. sorry, hopefully they don't see this comment 😁..
p.s. you're doing a great job..
The priest giving that speech called his people “the masters of time.”
Time… the Apocalypse… End Times. Am I sensing a theme here?
First time seeing your reactions. Keep it up! You’re great!
Interesting fact the blue paint the ancient Mayans used was grim Georgia hmm
15:27 The same reaction the spanish had when they arrived in the americas and saw that.
I will say this, I think we , as a society, should be very careful about sliding into the abyss. Will see what happens over the next few years. Hope for the best and prep for the worst.
your reactions are very good, I liked them.🤗
Your facial expressions are like “what did you guys make me watch” haha
It would be fair to say, that the arrival of the European did in fact bring an end to these civilizations, but the hidden point here is, that white man also brought science, universities, a juricidal system, technical innovations, hospitals and much-much more, apart from the inherent backside of the medal.
This is an important point because, as you might know, if it weren't for the 1800's and 1900's European, these kind of societies would have lived on to this day all around the Globe.
You probably don't know this, but go research the Ashanti Tribe/Asanti Kingdom from the Ivory-Gold Coast of Africa. They saw an opportunity and builded an entire society and power structure, based on murdering and capturing slaves, as more or less depicted in this movie, for the sole purpose of selling slaves to the Europeans back in the day. Black man sold black man.
And again, the arguments for prohibiting slavery did build up within the English/British law making process, so they banned it and tried to patrol the African coastlines, much to the annoyance of the Arabs.
It's quite funny how they've managed all over the Western hemisphere and Westernized countries, to avoid any mentioning of the Arab Slave Trade or how the entire Ottoman Empire from the North African coastline raided the mediterranian ocean and Western European coastline all the way to the Netherlands, Great Britain, Faero Islands and Iceland in their hunt for goods, ships and yes...slaves. Entire villages were raided.
And down along the East African coastline, hence why Zanzibar to this day in majority is Islamic the Arabs plundred, raided, murdered and captured slaves for the markets. Many of which were brought to what today is know as India, but back then, before the East India Company managed to get a stronghold in fact was brutally dominated by Islamic/Muslim lords/rulers.
A Danish explorer who was onbard one the British patrolling ships writes of how, just in a mere few years time, entire villages and peoples for miles and miles along and especially inwards from the East African coast were wiped out. Completely depopulated. Unrecognizable.
Good luck with your reseach. You bet 'ya......it freaking interesting.
Thank you!❤
Highly recommend his follow up, Hacksaw Ridge. Probably his best film.
Loved your reactions and comments...great stuff. Great movie. 😢😊😢😊 -J
You were a stress ball! I love this movie. Indigenous af.
Excelente filme!!
Hello , thanks for this reaction. I haven’t seen it but I know that You’ll do nice reactions, specially at the end of the film. Thank You and I’m a subscriber since today. Hello from hermosillo sonora mexico.
Beautiful reaction, i subbed and will be looking forward to more reactions.
The only mistake in the movie is that the Mexican and Central American cultures knew the stars very well, even better than Europe, they knew when there would be eclipses and it would not be a surprise as it seemed
The most suspenseful movie!
Would love to see an Emerald Forest reaction!
Top 5 favorite movies.
Thanks for watch this movie
Gran reacción y reflexión. Gracias.
Esse filme é muito bom...
awesome, got to watch this at the show back in the day, want to watch Moonfall
One of the most bonkers movies I've ever seen beautiful but brutal
As someone with Spaniard ancestry, it was cool to see the Spanish ships arriving to the new world. They were one of the most advanced civilizations at the time, and made huge advancements in exploration
Such a stellar reaction more please 🙏
70% of the Mexican population is mixed Spanish/Native people of Mexico
Ooooo! A unique reaction! Love it!
You use the ant's heads as sutures. Get the ant to bite either side of the wound, clamping it together. Pull the body off the head, and voila! (A Kuna indian friend from Panama told me this.)
Tapir tastes good. Also feel funny when they sniff you with the little fuzzy trunk.
The ships, a new civilisation that will bring an end to theirs with greed ,disease and exploitation,action packed, really good thriller.
Native Americans were doing it to each other already.. Europeans just did the conquering game better unfortunatley
You should check out Thunderheart it's another great Indigenous film
Nice reaction. Your smile is so beautiful.
Love or hate him, but great is great no matter what. To bad you wouldn't want to have dinner with him.
I love this movie 😍 great reaction
I like your personality so far, 1st watch