The brutal movie was written and directed by Mel Gibson
Film fans are raving about a brutal historical drama from 2006 which Quentin Tarantino has called ‘a masterpiece’.
2006 was a good year for movies with The Break Up, The Last King of Scotland, Adam Sandler’s Click, Little Miss Sunshine and The Pursuit of Happyness all being released.
However, there’s a lesser-known movie that people are still raving abut nearly 20 years on.
One fan said on Reddit: “One of the best movies of all time for me. The stakes are real, there is a constant focus on what’s important, everything that happens serves a purpose, the amount of character development is perfect.”
The movie sparked some controversy in some countries. (Buena Vista)
Apocalypto, written and directed by Mel Gibson, takes viewers back to the Mayan empire, with its leaders becoming increasingly bloodthirsty as cracks in their power begin to show.
We follow Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), who along with his entire village is captured and earmarked for human sacrifice. Yikes.
Luckily he makes a daring escape, but now has to go and rescue his pregnant wife and son.
Taking to social media to discuss Apocalypto, one person said that it’s ‘without a doubt’ the ‘greatest movie of all time’.
“Great film,” said another, as a third echoed: “Definitely a favorite.”
Someone else gushed: “They don’t make movies like they used to! This movie was phenomenal!!”
Backing up their reviews, Apocalypto has a 79 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It also received critical acclaim at the time of its release and went on to win a nine awards of an impressive 23 nominations, including three Oscar nomincations.
While it went on to be an award-winning movie, Apocalypto was hit with some controversies at the time – in Italy in particular.
Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto was released in 2006. (Buena Vista)
The country’s censors had deemed the film fit for children, but an Italian court went on overthrow this decision and barred kids from the age of 14 or under from seeing it.
Non-profit association Codacons president Carlo Rienzi said at the time: “Minors must be protected more than the economic interests of film production companies.”
Russia ended up being the only country without age restrictions on Apocalypto as other countries had rated it R.
For those of you who are intrigued to see it for yourself, Apocalypto is currently streaming on a handful of services including Amazon Prime Video, Peacock and Hoopla.
Featured Image Credit: Buena Vista Pictures
