10,000 BC (Warner Bros.)
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Steven Strait, Camille Belle, Marco Khanlian, Cliff Curtis
Running Time: 1 hr 49 mins
Rated: PG-13

The best thing that can be said for 10,000 B C is that it doesn't hold back on the spectacle and the special effects. And that's saying a lot, considering the little imagination that seemed to have gone into the storytelling, the convoluted sequence of events and the almost satirical speaking voices employed by the movie's dread-locked cast.

D'Leh (Steven Strait from 2005's Undiscovered) and Evolet (Camille Belle from 2006's When A Stranger Calls) are destined to be together, but are kept apart by clan politics in the prehistoric village they've lived in since birth. Evolet wants to run away with him, but D'Leh will not because his father left the tribe when he was a child. His father's act made D'Leh an outcast of sorts, and he has worked hard to restore his name. When a roving band of warriors raid their village and take most of the tribe, including Evolet, D'Leh heroically makes it his mission to save his people and the woman he loves.

What ensues are a days-long journey through perilous terrain, where D'Leh and his men encounter danger in innumerable forms.

The bulk of the action consists of his attempts to free them. What makes this film somewhat entertaining are the convincing special effects that dominate. There are several scenes of marauding woolly mammoths that have to be seen to be believed. As long as Emmerich keeps the audience focus on the logistics of mammoth killing, he is on firm historical ground. But, of course, soon after, the scenes begin to drag. But credit must be given for the rich tapestry of religion and culture exposed in the movie, however unrealiastic. Meanwhile, Belle and Strait make an attractive couple but their performances and on-screen chemistry is frustratingly inconsistent.

At the very least,10,000 BC has good special effects. Not great, but good. And the cinematography is admirable. But overall, the movie is not meant to be taken seriously by dedicated lovers of history and ancient civilisation. It's way too unbalanced in it's scope and comes across as a tepid, half-baked action-fantasy flick.

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