This movie was filmed in Hawaii and Hawaii beautiful as it is not exactly reminiscent of Mexico and Central America. The costumery of the Spanish conquistadors and male Aztecs is quite authentic but the female costumes are sorry to say not ethnically or historically correct. This movie aside from Caucasian actors being cast as Spaniards which is correct has with the exception of two main characters who are actors of Native American descent has Hawaiian actors cast as Aztecs. Hawaiians are descendants of Polynesians who came in ancient times from Malaysia and who within the past two and half centuries have mixed with several races and ethnic groups. Only a handful exist of pure Hawaiians. As for the Aztecs an Amerindian people possibly with Semitic or Pre-Spaniard European,Negro and Asian strains believed to have come from North America and settled in Central America namely Mexico during the 12th century A.D. The facts are the ancestors of the Polynesians and Mexican Tribes were not ethnically related and did not physically resembled each other and were far removed from each culturally and their multiracial descendants have little in common culturally,physically and ethnically today. If one is going to do a movie about any Native American tribe please use a cast of Native American descent. Mel Gibson in his film Apocalypto cast Native Americans and Hispanics the biracial modern day descendants of Spanish and Central American Aboriginal tribes. Ian Ziering did a pretty good job as Hernan Cortes I wouldn't have known it was him if I hadn't read the cast. The lead actress does a good job but one has to face it she looks nothing like an Aztec woman she's too tall and her facial features look more Polynesian or Asian. I wish they wouldn't have put dinosaurs in this movie I think than the writer of this movie was inspired by two dinosaurs films of the 1960s Valley of the Gwangi and Dinosaurus and any film having to do with the Aztecs. I did like the finale when Cortes top man falls in love and marries the Aztec princess and decides to stay with her and raise a family in an unknown valley of Mexico. Actually this story has a little factual basis.The myth no hidden valley in Mexico the Spanish Explorers didn't miss a trick.
The fact being that a captured Spaniard made slave in the Yucatan years before Cortes arrived decided to stay with his Native wife and family. He was tattooed like the natives and thought it was best to stay with them as he would never be accepted again by his Spanish countrymen. When Hernan Cortes came to Mexico this man refused to help him as an interpretor but his friend a captured fellow Spaniard and later a beautiful tribeswoman woman known as Malinche renamed in Spanish as Marina became his second interpretor.The story is recorded by Bernal Diaz writer and comrade of Hernan Cortes in his magnificent book the Conquest of New Spain. A must read for anyone interested in Aztec History from a Spanish perspective. The movie will be acceptable to anyone who likes adventure,dinosaurs,Spanish explorers/Conquistadors and ancient cultures.
The fact being that a captured Spaniard made slave in the Yucatan years before Cortes arrived decided to stay with his Native wife and family. He was tattooed like the natives and thought it was best to stay with them as he would never be accepted again by his Spanish countrymen. When Hernan Cortes came to Mexico this man refused to help him as an interpretor but his friend a captured fellow Spaniard and later a beautiful tribeswoman woman known as Malinche renamed in Spanish as Marina became his second interpretor.The story is recorded by Bernal Diaz writer and comrade of Hernan Cortes in his magnificent book the Conquest of New Spain. A must read for anyone interested in Aztec History from a Spanish perspective. The movie will be acceptable to anyone who likes adventure,dinosaurs,Spanish explorers/Conquistadors and ancient cultures.