Few times a year there are movies that everybody talks about but only some of these are really worth seeing, and, what more, remembering. Usually, Mel Gibson’s epic accomplishments come under the latter, however it is rather questionable where to put his latest bloodthirsty flick, a story of an ancient tribesman fighting for his life, set during the late Maya civilisation.

Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is a hunter and a family man. One morning, his village is rampaged by violent raiders led by Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo) and its adult population is subdued and taken to a Mayan city. Jaguar Paw manages to hide his pregnant wife Seven and his little sun Turtle Run in a well-like cave but then he’s taken with other hostages. In the city, women are sold as slaves and men are to be sacrificed to sun god Kukulkan on the top of the pyramid. Few get sacrificed but when it’s Jaguar’s time, a solar eclipse makes the priest pronounce that the god had enough for the day. And captives are to be disposed of.

Men are led to a ball field and forced to run for their lives to the jungle in the rain of javelins, arrows and stones. As even an untrained audience suspects, Jaguar, though being injured, makes it and in the process of doing so, sends Zero’s son Cut Rock to heavens.

What happens next is not hard to imagine. Zero Wolf takes it personally and consequently he and his warriors are chasing Jaguar Paw for the rest of the movie. Until most of them drop dead, of course. In the meantime, busy Jaguar has some more agenda on his hands: he’s to save his family members from the well.

Won’t spoil it for you and tell you how it ends, yet to a certain extent it’s predictable…

I am puzzled. And slightly disappointed. Honestly. I was ready for another dose of slit throats, ripped hearts and chopped heads and I got exactly that plus a marathon jog through the jungle as a bonus, yet I am not happy. Mel Gibson didn’t deliver another masterpiece in the best tradition of Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ.

The flick wasn’t boring for a second, yet it’s not enough. It seems to be clear: blood, cruelty and historical settings (let’s not talk about accuracy, all right?) or even Mel’s direction won’t do it if there’s something missing. And one can only assume if it is the style, or an undeniable hesitation of the camera. Or a b-grade script? Revenge of the Jews? A momentary lapse of reason?

I’d tick almost all of the above.