Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) has taken on alien invasions and the wrath of Mother Nature. In his latest film, 10,000 BC, he tackles the prehistoric era and the story of a tribe fighting for its survival. From the television spots and theatrical trailers, the film looks absolutely epic. The trailers give the film a "big" and "important" feel. Unfortunately, there is nothing epic about this film.
Everything in it has been done much better before in the dozens of similar films (see Apocalypto or 300).
The plot is rather simple and predictable. Accidental hero D’Leh (played by newcomer Steven Strait), leads his tribe into environments beyond their mountain to try to find his love, Evolet (played by the gorgeous Camilla Belle), and other members of his tribe who were kidnapped by a nomadic group of slave traders. Sound familiar? It should, as there isn’t anything new or original injected into this formula whatsoever.
The casting of the characters, especially the tribe members, are far from authentic. If anything, it comes off as hokey. According to a press release, Emmerich rejected the idea of having the movie being spoken in an ancient/foreign dialogue, believing it "wouldn’t be as emotionally engaging." Well, it is hard to make a film emotionally engaging when the viewer feels no attachment at all with the characters. It’s also hard to believe that every tribe happens to speak the same language and are able to understand each other.
None of the performances are memorable; Strait and Belle are faces and nothing more. While both are easy on the eyes, their acting is generic at best. The acting is telling of the entire film; it looks good, but there is nothing there under the surface.
The cinematography and the CGI work are visually stunning. Wide camera shots of the snowy mountaintops, deserts and pyramids really come alive on the screen. The beasts that they encounter such as wooly mammoths, tigers, and giant ostrich-like birds all look magnificent.
I can picture playing this on my game console, leaping over pits of doom and throwing spears at giant birds. Maybe 10,000 BC should have been made a video game, rather than a film.
