10,000 B.C.

July 22, 2008 | By Doug In Soccer Goals |

10,000 B.C.
To anyone who has ever yearned to see woolly mammoths in full stampede across the Alps, 10,000 BC can be heartily recommended. There’s also a flock of “terror birds”–lethal ostriches on steroids–in a steaming jungle only a splice away from the heroes’ snow-dusted alpine habitat. And lo, somewhere in the vastness of the North African desert lies a city whose slave inhabitants alternately teem like the crowds in Quo Vadis during the burning of Rome and trudge in hieratically menacing formations like the workers in Metropolis. That’s pretty much it for the cool stuff. Setting movies in prehistoric times is dicey. Apart from the “Dawn of Man” sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey, only Quest for Fire makes the grade, and its creators had the good sense to limit the dialogue to grunts and moans. 10,000 BC boasts a quasi-biblical narrator (Omar Sharif) and characters who speak in formed, albeit uninteresting, sentences–including a New Age-y “I understand your pain.” But let no one say the storytelling isn’t primitive. The narrator speaks of “the legend of the child with the blue eyes” and bingo, here’s the kid now. When, grown up to be Camilla Belle, she’s carried off by “four-legged demons”–guys on horseback to you–the neighbor boy (Steven Strait) who hankers to make myth with her leads a rescue mission into the great unknown world beyond their mountaintop. His name is D’Leh, which is Held, the German for “knight,” spelled backward. So yes, there is some hidden meaning after all.

10,000 BC is the latest triumph of the ersatz from writer-director Roland Emmerich. Like Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), and The Day After Tomorrow (2004) before it, it’s shamelessly cobbled together out of every movie Emmerich can remember to pilfer from (though to be fair, the section in pre-ancient Egypt harks back to his own Stargate). Emmerich’s saving grace is that his films’ cheesiness is so flagrant, his narratives so geared for instant gratification, he can seem like a kid simultaneously improvising and acting out a story in his backyard: “P’tend there’s this alien … p’tend maybe he came from Atlantis or something….” Just don’t p’tend it has anything to do with real moviemaking. –Richard T. Jameson

Customer Review: Ahead of Its Time
My lasting impression of `10,000 B.C`. is how good of a movie it really is. Not great, mind you, but I was impressed at the quality and the quantity of the action scenes. Never were there wooly mammoth sized pauses or unnecessary delays in the story or action. (Thanks to ‘Independence Day’ director Roland Emmerich and editor Alexander Berner.) Visually, the action is well framed and expertly shot. They may have taken liberties with history, but we’re not really supposed to care. Giant ostriches and saber tooth tigers? Well, I thought man wasn’t as well developed by then and animal evolution was far behind, but the movie isn’t pretentious; it’s an adventure meant to entertain. We even reach a well-developed civilization by then, far beyond cave man culture.

The plot is about as simple as the people who fill the screen. O’Leh (Steven Strait) is the Beowulf of cavemen times. He must rescue his woman, Evolet (Camilla Belle), and free his people while repairing the reputation of his allegedly cowardly father. (I guess chivalry didn’t start in medieval times after all.) His companions, like Tic’Tic (Cliff Curtis) provide more conflict and tension to the story. In the prehistoric fray are visions and visionaries (like Old Woman) who forecast the future and give advice. Most warriors rely on signs and wonders rather than on primitive compasses. Customs bind them all, and a handle on nature is the key to tribal success.

Compared to other cave men movies, this one is ahead by every frame. Wisely, we mostly get people talking in our own language without all the “Ugh’s” and grunts of past early man movies. I can’t emphasize enough how beautiful the scenes are shot as the tribe whizzes through snowy mountains, endless jungles, and vast deserts. As dangers come before them, the menace is close to the camera and harrowing to watch.

Don’t expect the film to be the next `Jurassic Park’ or as intense as ‘Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto (Widescreen Edition)’ or ‘300 (Full Screen Edition),’ but if you want a movie that gives you something to look at for nearly two hours and never lets up, ‘10,000 B.C.’ is essential viewing.

(Narrated with the stature of Omar Sharif of all people! For families this movie is rated PG-13 for the violence and not for any language or steamy love scenes.)

Customer Review: The Slaves’ Rebellion.
The film _10,000 B.C._ (2008) directed by Roland Emmerich is an excellent film set in prehistoric times with a unique and panoramic vision. I think the film is very likely influenced by the writings of fantasy action writer Robert E. Howard and certainly bears resemblance to the Conan films. The film takes place in prehistoric times when mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and giant birds roamed the landscape and men lived a simple hunter-gatherer type existence in the central Eurasian mountains (probably taking some liberty with actual historical fact of course). The film focuses on the Yagahl tribe who live in harmony with nature hunting mammoths. Two important characters from this tribe will serve as the central protagonists for the story - the young hunter D’Leh and the beautiful Evolet. In addition, the old mother, a shaman woman of the Yagahl tribe, plays a central role in the story. One day while hunting the mammoth, a group of warlords manage to kidnap Evolet and the young hunter must pursue them across the Levant in his effort to save her. However, after passing through many terrors, the hunter and his band of warriors encounter an evil civilization where they must work as slaves building great pyramids for “the Almighty”, a mysterious god-man who controls the slaves and for whom they must pay constant tribute. “The Almighty” demands that one of their own must be sacrificed to show the slaves that they must work harder for him. Ultimately, it is D’Leh who must lead the slaves in a rebellion against this evil man worshipped as a god and in an effort to rescue his love Evolet. Unfortunately, Evolet bears a mark upon her hand which shows her to be one of great power which “the Almighty” fears. In a fitting end, the noble D’Leh leads his people and the other slave peoples in a glorious revolt against the wicked masters. The masters show themselves to be cowards as they beg before their god “the Almighty”. However, D’Leh manages to throw a spear piercing “the Almighty” and thus killing him proving once and for all that he was no god but a mere mortal and evil man. Sic semper tyrannis! The slaves escape their masters, but first a last challenge must be faced by D’Leh and Evolet, and oddly the role of the old mother is to play an important part here. Thus, ends this film.

I found this film to be highly enjoyable and was particularly fond of the brilliant scenes. This film has been compared to Mel Gibson’s _Apocalypto_ (2006) and I believe that makes a good comparison. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and give it a good recommendation.

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