So Apocalypto took an interesting Mayan scenario (the collapse of the classic mayan civilisation), sexed it up with some Aztec-style sacrifice (although it would've been cooler if they were sacrificed to bears that shot laser beams out of their eyes), and threw in the Spanish as a nasty twist at the end (an anachronistic mismatch for the classical Mayan city shown in the first part of the film).

Not sure where the racism is, its certainly as dumbed down as most supposedly historical epics about western europeans. Gladiator has Marcus Aurelius toying with Republicanism (personified by a character called Gracchus lol), Braveheart has lowlanders in kilts and frenchmen like Edouard, De Bruce and Bailliol speaking english.

My other quibble is the one about "why was Jaguar Paw ignorant of the city?". He was certainly amazed by the city but thats how any peasant/villager/tribesman might feel coming to any city: eg an Arcadian peasant coming to Athens. Why can't J-P just be a hunter from the sticks who lives on his little patch and never left the local area? His tribe may have been on the fringe of the Mayan cultural zone, and he may not be Mayan at all. its only a minor quibble, the film sinks under the weight of its own contempt for history.

I think the arrival of the Spaniards simply foreshadows suffering for everyone, the hunters and the hunted.

There is a school of thought that says "the Spanish were less cruel than the Aztecs" and I am a believer in that. They were awful harsh conquerors but the Aztecs were an horrifically cruel regime and the majorty of mesoAmericans could not wait to throw them down and trample them. They gladly joined forces with the Spanish to do it. Hatred of the Aztes was certainly not limited to western europeans.