Reviews

I decided to watch this movie based on the trailer because it looked so action packed. I also loved Apocalypto and this film has a similar atmosphere so I decided to watch it. Upon going to the theater I had no gripes about its historical inaccuracy because it is a movie after all. I came in to watch a movie movie that will entertain and mostly WOW me. And in some aspect, the movie entertained me.

First of all the protagonists are extremely pleasing on the eyes. Secondly I love the CGI effects of the film. The acting was not superb but it sustained the whole film. I also like the unintended comical moments of the film. It was supposed to be a very serious film but my companion and I can't help but laugh at some parts of the film especially the parts of Old Mother. And the plot maybe simple, but I liked how the whole prophecy debacle meshed well in the whole of the film. At first I expected that people in the tribe of D'leh were the only ones who believed in the prophecy. As the story progressed though, it unfolds that all of the tribes in the film believed in one true prophecy, even that of the enemies.

However this movie did not WOW me. It did not meet my expectations. I was mostly disappointed in this movie because of how slow it seemed. There were not that many action sequences, there were lots of walking (really how could they go from snow to jungle to desert in a span of days?!?) and there were lots of talking. In other words, there were lots of white spaces that were not really needed. An epic battle scene between the protagonist and the antagonist is not even present because the mammoths(?) did it for them. Yep, the mammoths crushed many of those soldiers instead of us seeing a real fight.

Due to the lack of action sequences and conflict with the film, I did not empathize so much with D'leh too. His journey to become the one true savior was not that convincing as he did not seem to experience much of hardships, as compared to other heroes in historical epics like Apocalyto for instance. Granted that in Apcalyto, the protagonist was the one captured so he did endure a lot of pain in the hands of the enemy. D'leh's experiences, however, still came short. For instance D'leh's encounter with the giant birds, the mammoth and the warlord were so brief that it became anti-climactic. And even D'leh's experience in the whole journey are not convincing. Unlike other heroes, D'leh did not have that much of a groundbreaking epiphany that would transform him into the hero that could liberate everyone. If there was one though, it came near the end, when his mentor Tictic died. Tictic's death could serve as a focal point to develop D'leh's character some more but it wasn't fully utilized. And as I recalled D'leh was not even wounded throughout the whole film -- a feat. considering that one is fighting wild animals and many enemies.

I also had a problem with the cliché storyline and how this movie combined some of the most common archetypes to create a story, ei: the wise mentor, the prophet, the damsel in distress, a love triangle, a prophecy, and an ordinary person rising to become everyone's savior.

The ending was not that great for me either. It comes back again to how anti-climactic it seemed. Because in just a spur of a moment, D'leh killed the enemy's leader with one quick throw of a spear. Also his encounter with the warlord, his nemesis when it came to Evolet, was quickly killed. There where no iconic duel so that D'leh can be viewed as an authentic hero. And I had a problem of how Evolet magically came back to life in the end, courtesy of Old Mother sacrificing her own life. I know that this story had some elements of fantasy but the ending was way convenient. Deus ex machina, as some might say, wherein some magical event led to the salvation of Evolet. I wanted Evolet to either die or she might live because her wound was not that serious. The end sequence ruined the whole magical realism atmosphere for me.

And lastly, I could not also reconcile the fact that the message this film is sending out is quiet ironic: that is D'leh being the savior and liberator of his tribe because in reality his victory is but a temporary one. This is not included in the film, but I know personally that what D'leh did, will not stop other tribes and/or civilizations from raiding other tribes in the future nor will his heroic deed assure the safety of his tribe, or others he had saved, in the long run. And in essence, D'leh did not even save his tribe,but only a few members of his tribe who were captured. So his role as an iconic hero falls short of expectation too. But maybe that's just me and my tendency to over think so much.

There are still many quirks that I have in this film like how Nakudu could understand all of the different tribes' languages, or how most of the actors look very much alike that it can be somewhat confusing. I won't delve into them though because it did not seem to bother me as much as the gripes that I had above.

If you want to be entertained, 10000 BC is a decent film but if you are expecting a phenomenal epic, this movie may fall short of your expectations. I hope this review helps. c",)

I saw this movie with my friends yesterday and I was so disappointed with it. First of all I had very low expectations of the movie because I had read forums about the movie thus knowing what to expect. Too bad the forums I was on had so many fan boys/girls that their views were somewhat tainted. Thus I know beforehand that the movie: (A) is a monster movie (B) it was shot through first person POV (C) it was about a group of young people's battle for survival.

But I never expected the movie to lack a cohesive plot, empathetic characters and a good ending. I mean who in their right minds would rescue someone knowing that a monster is running amok trying to devour them all. OK, I understood Rob's reason a little bit (but it still is moronic) because he was in love. What was Lilly, Hud and that other girl's reason? I just don't get it. These characters defy the very rule of human nature: that is the need for self preservation.

The movie also had a lot of loopholes. Some of them include a camcorder with an unlimited battery life, a person who is still filming even though they are in danger, and a girl who survives (and can very much run around) after being struck by a rod in the torso (?).

I went inside the movie theater expecting at least some thrills here and there, but all I got was a lingering headache. All in all I hate hate hate this movie.