One of the posters for 10,000 B.C. displays a snarling saber-tooth
tiger about to mow down on the hapless human in its path. Misleading
marketing I’m afraid, as Roland Emmerich’s latest film has no teeth to
speak of.
Director Emmerich isn’t known for haute cinema, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not averse to a little check-your-brain-at-the-door fun at the theater, and though I wasn’t a fan of Independence Day or Godzilla, 2004’s enviro-doomsday thriller The Day After Tomorrow was just that – thrilling.
And that’s what I expected from 10,000 B.C. – nothing complicated, just an engaging, effects-laden adventure. Instead it was a plodding, tedious mess of a movie, with a paper-thin storyline, dreadful dialogue and surprisingly little action.
What story there was focused on the romance between a young tribal warrior named D’Leh (Steven Strait) and Evolet (Camilla Belle). When a band of warlords kidnap Evolet and dozens of tribe members, D’Leh and his remaining brethren, including the world-wise Tic’Tic (Cliff Curtis), journey over the mountains in a bold attempt to rescue them.
The problem is they’re vastly outnumbered and so face the challenging task of convincing other bands of warriors, many of whom have been similarly attacked, to join in their quest.
Steven Strait in a scene from 10,000 B.C.
10,000 B.C. had all the makings of a good adventure, and an exciting early scene involving the annual mammoth hunt showed promise (the creatures were quite cool looking on screen). The main problem as I saw it was the film was trying too hard to be a serious drama when it should have loosened up a little and had more fun.
Also, there’s the small matter of the shoddy dialogue. If you go to the film’s IMDB page, you’ll notice the memorable quotes section is empty. That pretty much says it all.
It’s a shame to see an actor of Cliff Curtis’s quality stuck in a dog like this - and sure enough his performance was one of two worth watching in the film. The other was from Affif Ben Badra, who compellingly played a warlord particularly taken with Evolet.
As for that sharp-fanged creature adorning all those posters – on screen it has all the menace of a tabby cat. The B.C. in 10,000 B.C. should stand for ‘Bring Coffee’ – you’ll need it to stay awake.
Posted by Cate Jones
Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com
10,000 B.C. * out of 5
Rated: PG-13/14A
Starring: Cliff Curtis, Steven Strait, Camilla Belle
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Written by: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser
Related links: Official site, IMDB page, Apple trailer
Yes I agree that the dialogue wasn't the best but I thought it was a great adventure/drama. The way the story line went I thought was great. The Cinematics where spectacular in my mind. So yes for a low budget film (140 Million) Just kidding. I thought they did a great job.
Posted by: Dakota O'Neill | March 13, 2008 at 11:04 PM