Maybe it takes Mel Gibson's certain level of, shall we say — volatility — to envision and marshal a replication of the Mayan empire that is so provocative and so effective. And so chilling. However you feel about the writer/director/producer and his allegiance to historical fact, you simply can't deny the ambition and the craft of the project. It's a simple tale of one man being forced to rebel against the corrupt, sadistic oppressors over him -- and the physical sacrifices he must endure. From the painstaking, beautiful detail of the costumes and tattoos, entire ziggurat temples being built for the sets, to subtitling the entire film spoken in Yucatec Mayan language, it's an obvious and fanatical achievement in filmmaking.