10,000 B.C.

Posted on: 20th March 2008  |

Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Joel Virgel
UK Release date: 14 March 2008
Certificate: 12A (109 mins)

At its best, the film 10,000 B.C. is tedious and requires its viewers to make a concerted effort if they are to make it through the one hour and forty-nine minutes.  Such tediousness is chiefly due to the predictability and unoriginality of the plot. 

It all begins 12,000 years ago in an unidentified mountainous land.  The adolescent D’Leh (Steven Strait) declares his love for the young Evolet (Camilla Belle), but alas, he must wait until he has reached manhood in order to win her affection.  Such maturation is achieved when he kills a beastly Manuk, which is comparable to a furry elephant.  While the Yagahl tribe believes that D’Leh has acted heroically, the truth is that his triumph was but a fluke.  In lamenting his lack of bravery he distances himself from the tribe.  It is then that a rival tribe arrives and claims the Yagahl as slaves.  Are you bored yet?  The remainder of the film focuses on D’Leh’s quest to find and save his people, but most notably, the fair Evolet.

One of the more ridiculous scenes is when D’Leh finds himself in a pit with a giant feline.  Just as he was unable to deliberately kill the Manuk, so is he unable to slay the deadly cat.  His mercy is however, duly rewarded, for the cat spares his life and D’Leh is able to forge ahead toward his captive damsel.  The other notable scene with animated beasts involves large ostrich-like creatures that are able to climb trees.  These scenes are reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park and I did find myself cheering for the Rastafarian-like humans. 

To be sure, D’Leh overcomes every obstacle and finally arrives in the land where his people, along with other tribes, have been forced to build pyramids and ships.  The climactic moment occurs when the slaves organise an insurgence.  With the help of the Manuks, the slaves push back their captors and there is absolute bedlam.  Manuks break free from their chains and charge down the incline leading up to the pyramid.  Despite this excitement, at this point one is simply hoping for a speedy ending.  But there can be no ending without the reunification of D’Leh and Evolet.  And so it comes to pass.  Even though Evolet is slain with an arrow, her life is ultimately redeemed through the death of the Yagahl tribe’s elderly prophetess.  The final scene assures the immediate continuation of the Yagahl tribe, for the two protagonists are left to live happily ever after.

It is difficult to pinpoint the central message that this film gets across.  Is it that enslaved people will ultimately be set free?  Is it that perseverance will be rewarded?  Is it that true love triumphs, even over death itself?  If that is what the director had in mind, then 10,000 B.C. is not a complete wash.  However, such messages are much more effectively communicated via other media, for instance, the Biblical narratives.  For a dramatic account of freedom from slavery and heroic perseverance, take a look at the book of Exodus.  Then turn to the Gospels for an exposition of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  For Christians, there is no better story that draws out the truth that life and love triumph over death.

Not surprisingly, I cannot recommend this film.  If you have a craving to see an action film with large, animated animals, you would do well to rent the Jurassic Park trilogy.  Spielberg’s animation is beyond compare and the dialogue among the characters is considerably more tolerable than it is in 10,000 B.C.



John Friday



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