| Studios: | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release: | March 7, 2008 |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure and Drama |
| MPAA Rating: | PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence. |
| Overall Grade: | B- |
| Story: | C+ |
| Acting | B- |
| Direction: | B- |
| Visuals: | B |
First off, I only saw the trailer and reviews after I watched the movie, so I did not know what to expect when I bought the ticket. I just thought that since this may be the last week it's showing at the mall I frequent, I decided I might as well figure out why it's been on the box office top ten since it opened.
Calling it 10,000 BC will make some people, like me, think that the story may be based on history. If not the story of a real person or group of people, at least a story that uses what we currently know of that time as backdrop. The movie is neither, which makes me wonder why it had that title at all ... they probably couldn't think of another one that wouldn't sound funny or corny.
The movie starts by reminding me of the first few chapters of the Clan of the Cave Bear ... a novel that I never actually finished, but I think is good if you are into that kind of story. However, the movie eventually deviates into other things that refer to stuff that is on the weird fringe of science: like Atlantis theories, Sitchin's gods from outer space, or the probability that the pyramids or the sphinx is older than scientists are willing to admit.
As I said, those theories remain on the weird fringe and mixing them up does not make this movie even remotely close to scientific. Take out the assumptions brought on by the misnomer of a title and this is a fantasy movie.
What kind of fantasy movie then? Action fantasy like the trailer suggests? Nope. Action is present, but it does not dominate the movie.
This is actually a love story of the fairy tale kind, but our knight, princess, castle and dragon look differently from what we are used to seeing of that genre. People who expected to see something different from this movie may be disappointed to be presented by a predominantly and even mushy love story, but I admit I enjoyed the "love crosses continents, and conquers all, even fear" part of the tale.
Things to nod at:
- a love story told without a sex scene
- it makes sense to use blind people to serve the "gods" who should not be seen
- showing the prevalence of superstition in the old times and how stupid it is
- people separated from other people is easily conquered
- people who choose to remain divided after a defeat will remain captives ... and although all it takes to band them together is a willingness to follow one man, convincing them to do so is tough
- dwindling number of animals to hunt will force hunters/gatherers to seek new lands, or learn planting crops
- shows that "marriage for love" is a relatively new concept ... ancient people may have acknowledged love, but they valued the survival of the tribe more in arranging marriages
- shows how personal feelings could mess up a strategy
- has a hero with believable personality flaws
Things that make you scratch your head:
- wondering if all those species and civilizations actually co-existed
- looks like D'leh and his men traveled halfway across the globe by crossing over snowy mountains, what looks like a rain forest, and a desert ON FOOT ... and they did all that in less than a year?
- D'leh is unbelievably, extremely lucky ... whether it's finding sharp pointy objects to use as spears or not getting trampled or eaten by large mammals... I'm surprised he didn't start calling himself some sort of god ... oh wait, his people had no pantheon of gods, they had ancestor worship
- Evolet must be one unlucky person
And yes, I agree with some reviewers who felt Evolet should have been left dead. If D'leh comes back to the tribe with either new technology (planting crops) or knowledge of more fertile lands, Evolet's role of saving the tribe would still have been fulfilled. It would also make the story less corny.
-----------edit: more stuff to make you scratch your head----------
- They hide the blind guy by making him lie down in a hole while the slaves work in the desert during the day ... it's a wonder he doesn't die of suffocation or extreme heat
- How do the HAIRY mammoths survive the DESERT heat? If they do not last long, is it even economical to use them when you have to feed them a lot only to have the slaves spend part of their time burrying the mammoths' huge dead bodies shortly after?
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