PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence.
Directed by Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, The Patriot, Godzilla and Independence Day)
Starring Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Omar Sharif, Reece Ritchie, Suri van Sornsen
I liked 10,000 B.C. better the first time I saw it… when it was called Apocolypto.
10,000 B.C. centers on a remote mountain tribe and the young hunter D'Leh (Steven Strait). When his future bride – the beautiful Evolet (Camilla Belle) is carried off by a band of mysterious warlords, he leads a small group of hunters to pursue the warlords to the end of the world to save her. As they venture into unknown lands for the first time, the group discovers there are civilizations beyond their own and that mankind's reach is far greater than they ever knew. At each encounter the group is joined by other tribes who have been attacked by the slave raiders, turning D'Leh's once-small band into an army.
When it comes to Emmerich’s work, I’m so hit or miss. I loved The Patriot and The Day After Tomorrow but the cheese in Godzilla and Independence Day makes me cringe through much of those films. 10,000 B.C. comes with extra cheese. Dialogue… cheese, love story…cheese, even the battle scenes (that admittingly I was looking forward to)…CHEESE!!
Then there is the script. Honestly very little about this movie even makes sense. From the location to the tribes to the “Almighty,” it felt disconnected and pointless. There are references that are just ridiculous like referring to snow as the “great white train”…really? Or the saber-tooth tiger is called “the spear-tooth”…very clever. Speaking of the “spear-tooth,” D’Leh is suppose to be this brave hunter, but when found in a pit with a drowning saber-tooth tiger…instead of killing him, he frees him. Peta would be so proud. But it’s the anticlimactic ending that is so disappointing it almost hurts.
On the bright side, I now have a new “protector from the rings of doom.” Yeah I mean coaster. (Like the writers of 10,000 B.C., I didn’t try real hard with that one either.)
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
The PG-13 rating is for sequences of intense action and violence and while it is not very graphic, there are a few scenes that would scare younger viewers. Like the over grown “bird-dinosaur things” and the “four legged demons” (that’s what they call horses).
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
