Mediadads.com movie review

                     10,000 B.C.
                                     PG-13 (2008)
                                     Warner Brothers, Legendary Pictures

                                     Director: Roland Emmerich
                                     Cast: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Joel Virgel

We almost passed on this one. We're so glad we didn't.

Somewhere just above the equator, at the dawn of time, a man handed over his
spear and left his village. The tribe branded him as a coward, and his son, D'Leh,
(Steven Strait) was raised in shame. Only the hunter's friend, Tic Tic (Cliff Curtis,
Live Free or Die Hard) knows why the strongest hunter left, but he has been sworn
to secrecy. When a blue-eyed girl, Evolet (Camilla Belle) is discovered in the wild,
the tribe's ruling medicine-woman sees a prophecy in her. D'Leh and Evolet
become close, and he eventually wins her in a rite of passage. He is in the middle
of questioning the ethics of his victory when the tribe is raided. D'Leh sets off to free
them, fighting slavers, wild beasts, and the elements. Befriending other tribes along
the way, he learns that he is following in his father's footsteps, and that the path to
free his people merges with the path to find his father, and himself.

This film is getting mixed press about special effects and "cheesy" narration. In
professional circles, voice-overs are often thought of as a crutch for weak writing, but
in this case we thought it worked. We wonder if some reviewers just didn't have
Dads, and having blanked out this tragedy in their own lives, they didn't see the epic
male story here for fathers and sons. Viewed in this light the plot is suddenly strong
as an coming-of-age story for young men who have had their fathers stolen from
them and who are left out of today's girl-power society. It is an affirmation of
fatherhood where men lead by example, even if it means risking their lives and
sacrificing their good name for the benefit of all. We enjoyed the story, even with the
film's few technical issues and many historical glitches.

Fatherhood
10,000 B.C. is rich in father-son messages. As the son takes up the hunt for his
captured tribe, he learns the truth about why his father never returned, and it was
nothing like what everyone back home believed. It turns out that his father was good,
brave and respected among the people he'd met in his journeys. Although the two
never meet as men, they are united in their work, making a better world for their kids.

None of this comes at the expense of women. The film prominently features a wise
woman leader, and a capable young girl. In their own ways, the young man and
woman experience the passing of spirit from one generation to the next through
vehicles that will be satisfactory to the tribe of today's Western Culture.

The film has little that will date it later on, but there are a few social tags in it:
= A father does not want to disrupt the matriarchy by publicly disagreeing with it.
= After D'Leh wins Evolet and is thinking of disqualifying himself on a point of honor,
Tic Tic questions if she was "your's to lose". This 20th century concept was
doublespeak. Some viewers will see the honor question, where others will believe
that in a prehistoric culture women could not be owned. Both could be true in
D'Leh's matriarchal tribe but the film's dialog seemed a little modern, here and in
other places.
= Hair styles.
= Tribesmen speculate that the pyramid builders are from space, or are gods. This
is just silly stuff out of today's pulp fiction. Everybody knows they were built by dads.

Final Review
Male friendly, father friendly, girl friendly. Kids, ask Dad to take you.
Dads, listen to your kids. :)

Back to Reviews                                                                                        Back to top

mediadads.com

Mediadads