Film enthusiasts have hailed a lesser-known historical drama as the ‘greatest movie ever made.’
The action-adventure film has been dubbed a ‘must-watch’ and recognized as one of the best movies of the 2000s. It has even earned accolades from director Quentin Tarantino, who referred to it as a ‘masterpiece.’
The fan-favorite is currently being praised across social media, with viewers encouraging others to watch it.
One viewer writes, “Very few films stir emotions in me, but I must say, this one is brilliant.”
Another person shares, “This is one of my top 10 movies of all time. Words can’t truly capture how powerful and well-made it is.”
“I could watch this movie a million times and never get bored,” another viewer comments.
A fourth viewer chimes in, “This should definitely be in the conversation as one of the best horror and action movies of the 2000s.”
“An absolute must-watch. Don’t miss this,” another enthusiast raves.
The historical action-adventure, produced and directed by Mel Gibson, is set against the backdrop of the 16th-century Mayan civilization.
Its description reads: “Jaguar Paw, a young man, is captured by the rulers of the Mayan kingdom. When they choose to sacrifice him, he devises a daring plan to escape death.”
The drama has earned an audience score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 7.8/10 on IMDb.
David Keyes from Cinemaphile wrote, “It isn’t just an effective movie, but an immensely powerful one: a benchmark and a foresight seemingly all rolled into one.”
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it, “Pathologically brilliant. It is bizarre, stomach-turningly violent, and frequently inspired.”
Although Apocalypto received widespread praise from critics and fans, the drama stirred controversy.
Many scholars argue that it is historically inaccurate, particularly in its portrayal of mass human sacrifice. Zachary Hruby, a Maya expert at the University of California, Riverside, explained to National Geographic, “The Aztecs are known to have sacrificed large numbers of people, though, according to the archaeological record, we are unsure of how many would be sacrificed at one time.”
He added, “There is no data to support that the Maya carried out sacrifice on such a large scale.”
Ricardo Cajas, Guatemala’s presidential commissioner on racism, stated that the film set back the understanding of the Mayan people by 50 years.
He told the Associated Press (as reported by The Guardian): “It’s a case of Western civilization imposing its view about other civilizations.”
Despite Apocalypto’s brush with controversy, it did not hinder the film’s success.
The movie became a box office hit and garnered several awards, including the COFCA Award for Best Cinematography.
