10 000 BC

I had planned to catch this in the cinema. it may have lost something on the small screen.
I was a little dispointed. Perhaps I had set myself up for a fall. perhaps I know too much. I was under one miconsception about this film. Looking at the fauna, I thought it would be set in the ancient Americas. I should have thought of it more as Conan, set in some Hyperborean age.

Well its an old story, a young man, is abandoned by his father, who fears that  shaman's dream, will spell doom for his tribe. The son grows up, and wishes to redeem his name, and win the heart of a blue eyed girl.
The tribe are a dreadlocked  multi ethnic bunch. I assume they were living in what is now Alaska.
Some one made, an effort, to teach the actors an accent. To keep Nu Yawkers, and Valley girls out of the cast is a good idea. Spartacus had occasional outburst of standard american, which can jar.
The first set piece is a Mammoth hunt. This is done well, I am not sure about the use of a net, to catch Mammoths. If you can weave a large net, you can make bows, and the hunters, here are still using spears. Not that Clovis point are not horribly effective tools. Archaeologists have died, forgetting themselves, and placing Clovis point heads into their pockets.
Anyway, the hero. By doggedness, and dumb luck, kills a Mammoth, wins the white spear, and is now free to marry his beloved.
However the honeymoon is interrupted by RAV's (Russians Arabs Villians) mounted on horses, conducting a slaving raid. This is not badly done either. The RAV's speak another langague. They are terrifying. The hunters, loose horribly to them, they can only cower, while there women and children are stolen by ``Demons''
The film does a little better then its given credit for by showing the grief, the gnashing of teeth, after a slaving raid. This is something that still happens today. In Africa, and
So our Hero, follows the tracks south,
It is here that he and his companions, are tested by CGI.
There are
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorusrhacidae
These are South American fauna, and long extinct before 10 000 BC They are depicted as the Raptors of Jurassic Park, with feathers.
Then the Hero, rescues the Sabre tooth. Plays

Androcles And The Lion

The film draws strongly from the Bible, or rather biblical epics. More on this later.
Mean while the RAV's despite the lack of fodder for their horses, bring their slaves over moor and mountain, and desert
The heroine, tries to leave a trail, she is whipped.
Our Heroes following the path of the slavers, run into some Zulus. Or some other obviously African tribe. The animal hide shields, are somewhat problematic. As I don't see any domesticated animals
Our Heroes put together a rainbow coalition against the  RAV's
Instead of running the horsemen down. A horse cannot travel as far and as easily as a human being over time. Our heroes, follow the RAV's back to their city.
The RAV's have taken to sail boats to make their trip easier. They reach after a few days a city
Oh dear a city
It looks Egyptian. There are two lines, indicating the city may have been founded by Aliens, or by Atlantis. The RAV's take their orders from the priests of the city. Who speak another tonuge. Who use Mammoths for construction, who have thousands of slave working on a project.
The hunters, believe the Priests of the city may be gods. They are ruthless they practice human sacrifice. Well they throw someone of a building to encourage the others.

(SPOILER SPACE)

Well now its time to play Moses. Time to free the slaves. The hunters, infiltrate the camp, and start a revolt.
Meanwhile, the heroine, is to be sacrificed as her scars mark her as special.
The hero, leads a revolt. Kills, the RAV who stole his woman, unmasks the priests as Men. Destroys their great ship. A large ocean going ship.
There is a good scene, when the Priests are shown defenceless and terrified as the slaves storm their pyramid, temple.
Alas, the beloved of our hero is lost. The RAV, in a final act of spite, kills her. However the death foretold by the shaman, the wise woman, not the band, belongs to another. The Shaman sees a vision of herself, after all. It is her death, in exchange for the young girl, that sets her people free
So from Moses, to Jesus. The whole of the bible, in 90 minutes.
In the end of heroes head north , reunited, with corn, to grow food. The hunters, settle down. All well that ends well.

Comments

Malchera said…
PS

The film is too wide in scope.
I kept having to concentrate on the movie.

The film tries to be epic, without what makes an epic. Anyone can do CGI, but only Charlton Heston could part the red sea
Sahara said…
I watched 10 000 BC in the cinema and was disappointed. Thought it would be more of showing the history and so and not a guy finding his girl. :/

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