Not entirely what I expected...

So Apocalypto was not quite the historical epic I had hoped it to be. There were a lot of things that were spot on as far as what the Spaniards and archaeology have dictated, but other things that are compleyely unbelievable. Allow me to bullet point first the truths, then the fiction.

Truths:

• The unnamed Mayan city's military goes on campaigns not for conquest or simply to kill, but to acquire sacrificial victims to bring back to the city.
• In keeping with the post-classic, "Aztecized" era, the sacrifices first involve the removal of the heart. Then the thohroughly Mayan practice of humiliation by decapitation with the subsequent rolling of first the head, then the lifeless body down the stairs of the temple (pyramid if you will).
• The Mayan realm having not just cities, but tribes living in villages. This was certainly the case. Though the religion is the same, not everyone in the area lived in cities nor were they as sophisticated.
• The Mayan temples were painted red from top to bottom.

Fiction:

• The tribal folk don't know why they have been captured and forced to walk to the city. Also, they don't know these large cities exist. Even though they share many of the same cultural aspects. Believe me...EVERYONE in el Mundo Maya knew of the existence of the cities.
• The people in the cities behaved like the islanders from the most recent King Kong movie. They behaved like savages. I find it hard to believe that a people who became so advanced in...oh, everything could be so maniacal. With the exception of the sacrifice thing, the Maya were about as sophisticated and civilized as the Atheneans.

That is actually all that was incorrect about the movie. In fact, the latter bullet point was so disturbing that I am glad they only dedicated about 10 minutes to city scenes. The rest of it took place in the rainforest. Oh, there is one other incorrect scene. The protagonist's wife falls in a well on her stomach trying to escape and lands on her stomach. She appeared to be about 6 or 7 months pregnant. Instead of aborting the pregnancy, this event causes her to go into labor and deliver a healthy 12 pound baby. O...k...

The awesomness of the movie begins as the protagonist begins his escape and the small band of military folk chase him into the jungle. They all die glorious deaths...one gets his face crushed by a jaguar, another gets his head bashed and blood spurts out to the beat of his pulse, another gets impaled by a tapir hunting trap, and the list goes on. Although, the coolest thing in the movie was the use of a hive full of pissed off bees being used as a projectile into the vicious band of marauders.

All in all, the movie was quite good and well worth the wait. It also reminded me of how absolutely gorgeous the Yucatan is. I really want to go back.