Wow. What a staggering, sloppy, unsusual and entertaining movie this one was!
Roland Emmerich is back and this time he's bringing prehistoric mammals, pyramids and ancient civilizations with him. "10,000 BC" marks the return of the director to his "Godzilla" days with a movie that is awkward nearly every step of the way.
The script to "10,000 BC" is as basic as it gets. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds out about his departed father, boy loses girl again, boy mounts an army to defeat evil, boy wins girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl. I think that is an accurate trajectory of events (those who have seen this movie can attest to it).
From the first few frames, it was obvious that Emmerich did not have a handle on directing the actors of this film. The dawn of man, as it were, never felt real through these performances. Had their been some authenticity, or believability for that matter, then this movie could have been fortunate enough to be panned merely for the pedestrian script. Instead, we follow the uprising of D'Leh (Steven Strait) as he leads the people of the region in an assault against a more advanced ruling civilization. It's an all too predictable saga but sometimes formulas can work in movies...although the aforementioned acting (and dialogue) prevent that from happening.
"10,00 BC" isn't all bad. There is plenty of fun special effects sequences to chew on and there are a couple of cinematic 'money shots' that Emmerich typically delivers with his films. One such shot is when D'leh and his newly raised army race across the dunes only to see an armada sailing away with their people as prisoners. Another fine sequence is when D'Leh confronts a giant sized tiger during his adventures and communicates with him in a pretty interesting manner.
As the film built to its climax in its final act, I was prepping myself for this film to be an unannounced prequel to Stargate, which I think would have made things a whole lot more interesting. Instead, we meet the mysterious ruler of the conquerors and get to see pyramid shrines being built in his honor. It's in this setting that the final showdown between D'leh and his army takes place and where the fate of he and his lover is written.
Without giving away spoilers, and those who have seen this should agree, there was an inexcusable plot development at the end of this film that gave "10,000 BC" an unnecessary Hollywood ending. This finale was so ridiculous that I felt cheated even with the standards of such an odd and uneven film like this. This development alone cost the movie half a star in its rating and it wasn't working with too many to begin with!
Emmerich may want to fine tune his approach when he suits up for his next epic, the disaster film "2012." While I admit that "10,000 BC" offers a bit of harmless fun, and that this was a movie I was trying very hard to like, it's ultimately a misfire and one that is closer to "Godzilla" than it is to "Stargate." This is a movie that can be recommended to fans of silly sci-fi and adventure movies but to no other crowd besides that.
Where is Kurt Russell when you need him?
