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Apocalypto

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 17, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 17.
  • Is it any good?

    2.0
  • Common Sense says

    The bloody end of a civilization. Not for kids.

updated 10.15.08

Why We Rated This not for kids

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The noble hero must answer brutal, relentless villains with his own form of brutality.
  • Violence :

    Gory violence is explicit and almost non-stop, in some form or another. An early hunting scene sets the tone when a tapir is abruptly killed and cut open. Bloody assaults (rape is implied in some cases); weapons include spears, knives, arrows, poison darts, spiked traps, and other tools. Men are chased, hit, kicked, knifed, beaten, speared, cut open (their hearts are cut out and held up in ritual sacrifice while they're still alive), and beheaded (this is also graphic, with heads and bodies falling down a long staircase with loud thuds). Frequent shots of injured, bloody bodies and faces (including one particularly gruesome scene in which an exposed brain spurts blood). A man's throat is cut in front of his horrified son, and a jaguar rips a man to pieces before being brutally stabbed to death. Frequent deadly peril.
  • Sex :

    Naked or near-naked bodies throughout (16th-century tribal communities); jokey references to one man's impotence (he's given tapir "balls" to eat and a salve that makes his genitals burn, and his wife appears with her mouth also "burning," indicating off-screen fellatio).
  • Language:

    In subtitles: One "f--ked," plus "damn."
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Apocalypto

Parents need to know that this relentlessly brutal, subtitled action film isn't for kids. It features extreme and repetitive violence, including suggestions of rape (screaming women who are dragged off screen). But the greatest viciousness is directed against male bodies: Men are tortured, beaten, cut, kicked, thrown to the ground, speared, shot with arrows, beheaded, and cut open while they're still alive (their cut-out hearts appear in close-up). A man's throat is cut in front of his son, heads are set on sticks as totems, and a jaguar attacks a man and rips him to pieces on screen. A pregnant woman and her young child are left stranded in a dangerous situation, leading to some very tense moments; other children are left to fend for themselves when their parents are taken captive, and a young girl with smallpox (her face marked with open sores) is shown crying next to her mother's corpse. A man's alleged impotence is the source of some humor. One subtitled use of "f--k."

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the role of violence in the movie. Is it appropriate for the story that's being told? Which parts, if any, are gratuitous? How accurate do you think it is? Director Mel Gibson has become known for making very violent movies -- why do you think a filmmaker might be drawn to that kind of material? How about the subtitles? Why do you think Gibson chose to film the movie in Yucatec? Families can also talk about the relationships between the different groups of Mayans in the movie. Why does one group think the other is suitable for labor and sacrifice? How does the film represent Mayan religious rituals? How does Jaguar Paw's devotion to his family make him a familiar and also mythic hero?
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Our Members Say

Have You Seen It? Review It!

  • What did you think about Apocalypto?
  •  I think this movie is

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See all 25 member reviews

Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer
    Age 14
    Lives in Virginia
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 5.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    Educationally scary

    Good educational movie, a little too bloody and gory for younger viewers. I personally loved it. It was very realistic and the language was a little bad too.

  2. Teen Reviewer
    Age 17
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 5.0

    wait

    im 13 but how did it change to 17?????

  3. Teen Reviewer
    Age 17
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 5.0

    great

    im 13 and this helped me a lot on my Mayan project. 11-20 great movie enough blood dialouge and violence but it had me scared to go upstairs in fear that jaguar would kill me

  4. Kid Reviewer
    Age 12
    Anonymous
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 3.0

    good but gory

    i like the movie but besides the gore it is a good movie i like how jaguar paw fights to rescue his family but the gore eww a guy gets impaled on the head by an arrow

  5. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Ohio
    I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it 4.0

    Graphically Violent

    I think this may be the most violent non-horror movie ever. My father-in-law got it for the older kids, who are 13, 12, and 10. He didn’t think it would be very bad. I was fairly disturbed by the idea of children watching it. Kids should definitely not watch this movie.

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