DVD Monthly

10,000 BC

Reviewer: Tim Isaac
Issue 106 August 2008
(4 votes, average: 6 out of 10)
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Prehistory isn’t what it used to be.

The Lowdown: 12,000 years ago, an isolated tribe live a frugal existence hunting mammoth. Their lives are disrupted by slave traders who drag many of the tribe off. Young D’Leh sets off after them, crossing mountains, jungles and into the desert, hoping to free his friends and rescue the girl he’s in love with.

Review: Okay, let’s get this out of the way. 10,000 BC is a very, very silly movie. Even by the standards of most blockbusters, it pushes way past credulity and into realms on heretofore unheard of daftness. That said, it is one of those films that could easily become a guilty pleasure. It sort of depends what you want from the film. If you want a sensible plot, character development, logic, decent acting and other indicators of good filmmaking, then you’re plumb out of luck. However if you just want from decent action setpieces, weird looking CG creatures trying to eat people and don’t mind the lacklustre way the bits in between are put together, then you’ll probably find yourself enjoying 10,000 BC. I probably shouldn’t admit it for fear of being ostracised from the film reviewing community, but I did sort of enjoy it.

And I think the main reason I had quite a nice time sat in front of it was because I remember what other Roland Emmerich films are like – immensely dumb, but entertaining in a switch-your-brain-off kind of way (except for Godzilla, for which we all could do with a Men In Black style brain-wipe). After all, I didn’t mind that in The Day After Tomorrow, Dennis Quaid went off to find Jake Gyllenhaal, killing his two colleagues along the way, only to discover when he got there that he didn’t really need to have bothered, because the government could have sent helicopters. Nor was I horrifically fussed when in Independence Day they somehow managed to have the right power lead to hook a computer up to an alien spaceship. I’m not entirely sure why, but it just seems my tolerance for inanity goes up when I see the words ‘Roland Emmerich’, probably because what goes around the stupidity is normally pretty entertaining. It’s sort of like reading Harry Potter. You don’t spend much time trying to work out the mechanics of how Hagrid’s normal sized father managed to impregnate his giant sized mother, you just enjoy the ride.

And with Sabre Tooth Tigers, giant killer birds, mammoth on berserk and plenty more, there is a fairly enjoyable ride on offer in 10,000 BC, as long as you don’t think about what you’re watching for more than a second or two at a time. It’s also true that even though this is a two disc set, the special features are pretty underwhelming, with only an okay alternatate ending, some deleted scenes and a couple of featurettes. ‘A Wild And Woolly Ride’ is a decent but short making of effort, while ‘Inspiring An Epic’ looks at the history and ideas behind the movie. 10,000 BC is admittedly one of Emmerich’s weaker efforts, which should tell you a lot, but it is oddly fun in a mindless sort of way.

FILM: 5
EXTRAS: 7

DVD Info:
Certificate: 12
Starring: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Voel Virgil
Directed By: Roland Emmerich, 2008
Distributor: Warner
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 103 mins
Price: £22.99

Special Features:
Scene Selection
Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes
‘A Wild And Wooly Ride’ Featurette
‘Inspiring An Epic’ Featurette