MEL Gibson has had a tough personal time of late following his headline grabbing drunken outburst. But while many were predicting the fallout it would have on his career, the actor-director went about the business of repairing his profile, apologising and preparing for the release of his latest film.

Apocalypto is due to debut in US cinemas this coming weekend (December 8) when all eyes will be on its box office performance. But critics seem to agree that Gibson has created another breathtaking piece of work that deserves to be recognised by a large audience.

The film is described as “a heart stopping mythic action-adventure set against the turbulent end times of the once great Mayan civilization”.

It is filmed entirely in the now defunct Mayan language, boasts a cast of unknowns and is said to be packed with the high intensity violence that has become something of a trademark for the filmmaker (in the light of Braveheart and The Passion Of The Christ).

The film follows the fortunes of one man (played by Rudy Youngblood) who embarks on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear after his idyllic existence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force.

Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

Gibson says he was drawn to the story because the Mayan culture was very interesting to him, especially since so very little is known to mainstream audiences about it.

He believes the story has many parallels with places like Machu Picchu in Peru – similar civilizations that disappeared almost overnight. And, of course, there are obvious comparisons with the state of the world today.

In an interview with Empire magazine, for example, Gibson states that history has a habit of repeating itself and, in his opinion, we’re currently speeding towards our own destruction in a way that has many similarities with the Mayans – especially in terms of the damage we’re doing to our environment and the political corruption that exists.

He also believes that Apocalypto will be embraced by audiences in the same way that The Passion of The Christ was because there is always a thirst to be taught and to see new things. He has accused the major studios of ignoring this and serving up the same old things and feels it is his obligation as a filmmaker to teach, inspire and deliver something different from the norm.

And if the early response from some of America’s leading critics is anything to go by, then Gibson has succeeded once again in proving the doubters wrong.

Rolling Stone, for instance, described the film as “breathtaking to watch” and added: “Gibson has made a film of blunt provocation and bruising beauty.”

While Variety wrote: “Mel Gibson is always good for a surprise, and his latest is that Apocalypto is a remarkable film.”

It adds that the film offers “hitherto unseen sights of exceptional vividness and power”.

Emanuellevy.com, meanwhile, stated: “It should have been titled Run, Jaguar, Run. Try to forget Gibson’s spiritual intent (and bad conduct) and watch it as the best, most thrilling, and longest chase actioner Hollywood has made this year, putting to shame genre “experts” like Michael Bay.”

However, there were some who found some of the film’s violence difficult to stomach, particularly as it includes some gut-wrenchingly graphic scenes involving human sacrifice.

The Hollywood Reporter described it as “a first-rate epic” but questioned its “over-the-top violence”. It added: “The guy knows how to make a heart-pounding movie; he just happens to be a cinematic sadist.”

Earlier, it explained: “In Apocalypto, Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia turn to the Mayan civilization that dominated present-day Mexico and Central America from 2400 B.C. to the 15th century A.D. They ignore its advances in urban planning, mathematics, art, astronomy, agriculture and writing systems to dwell on its utter barbarity. Men hunt men, rape women and sacrifice victims by tearing hearts from quivering bodies with joyful ferocity.”

Variety, however, wrote that the violence didn’t feel exploitative and was full of praise for Gibson as a filmmaker.

Whether audiences have the stomach to brave the director’s latest remains to be seen but, at the very least, Apocalypto looks set to fuel the debate surrounding the merits of Gibson as a director – one who is undoubtedly talented, yet one who constantly displays a worrying appetite for cruelty and suffering on-screen.

The film opens in the UK in January and already looks set to become one of 2007’s greatest talking points…

Watch the trailer

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