10,000 B.C.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
"10,000 B.C." is a mammoth movie. Seriously. It's "Independence Day" meets "Lord of the Rings" meets "Jurassic Park" meets every "chosen one fulfilling the prophesy movie you've ever seen" meets "The Flinstones." I swear I saw Barney Rubble in one of the crowd scenes.
The Story
The director of "Independence Day" (and "The Patriot" and "The Day After Tomorrow") brings us "Independence Day 10,000 B.C." No aliens this time. Instead, the humble people refuse to be overrun by invaders with a superior technology called "horses."
It's the ancient world, and people wear hides, dreadlocks, and bone jewelry. Giant mammoths and saber tooth tigers roam the land. Mysterious tribes of dark-skinned people inhabit the desert region. And a band of marauders is stealing people for slaves from every village.
Backing up. When an orphaned, blue-eyed girl is brought to his mountain village, a boy named D'Leh hears the spiritually connected "Old Mother" prophesy that this girl marks the end of an era. In the year of the final mammoth hunt, she says, their people will be conquered, but this girl's man will save them all. Or something like that.
Flash forward: D'Leh (Steven Strait), now a man, takes down a mammoth. The girl, Evolet (Camilla Belle), is kidnapped in a raid. D'Leh and three others take off on foot after the horseback riders to save Evolet and the rest of their people. Over the mountains. Through the jungle. Across the desert. Adventure. New friends. A mission to stop the kidnappers once and for all.
But when they arrive at the giant work project at the end of their journey (hint: pyramids), they find out that fulfilling all the prophesies about D'Leh and the legend of the blue-eyed girl might be harder than they thought.
Verdict
"10,000 B.C." is a CGI spectacle filled with big vistas. Snowy mountain ranges. Vast deserts. The pyramids under construction. Herds of mammoths at full gallop. It's a giant canvas intended to tell a giant story, and the unoriginal adventure follows along the dotted lines, just as it's meant to.
In spite of being predictable (and frankly bland for a story with man-eating animals and a huge body count), director Roland Emmerich's film includes some nice moments. Most of those involve the grandeur of dozens of big-tusked mammoths and thousands of slave workers hauling huge stones up to the pyramids or the stark silhouette of a line of spear-carrying warriors against the background of a starry night.
They don't include moments of sometimes silly dialog in surprisingly good English (considering the story is set in pre-biblical times). None of the performances are especially riveting, but Camilla Belle as the blue-eyed Evolet is a ringer for a young Elizabeth Taylor. She's not given much to do, though, besides looking pretty and motivating the hero to keep walking and walking and walking to find her.
The film's PG-13 action violence includes some blood and death, but very few gruesome images. No harsh language or sex.
Worldview
Set in a time before Abraham, the film pictures a world in which different people groups worship varying gods. D'Leh's people rattle bones, paint faces, and receive prophecies from their "fathers." Their spiritual leader is "Old Mother," a woman able to hear the fathers and project her spirit great distances. All the other tribes also have prophesies (or "tellings"). Every last one seems to be about D'Leh, and every prophesy comes true.
In short, the film exists in a world in which men worship multiple gods, and some of those gods have real supernatural power. Other "gods" are shown to be false. And "four-legged demons" are shown to be horses. So superstitions are sorted from true supernatural power. Christians would see the worship of any god with some real power -- other than the one true God -- as demon worship. This adventure story is guided by that worship.
On a positive note, D'Leh's mentor Tic'Tic describes manhood in a compellingly way that falls in line with a biblical worldview. He says men draw a circle around themselves and vow to protect and care for all who fall within it. For some men, that circle includes their "woman" and children. For others, their extended family. For great men -- leaders like D'Leh -- it includes many, many people. A man must decide who falls in his circle of influence.
The Bible commands all men to take responsibility for loving, leading, and providing for wives and children (see Ephesians 5-6). For Christian men who would accept the call to spiritual leadership, God's Word sets a higher standard. Those who would lead must be men of strong character and real wisdom. (See Titus 1 for a specific list of standards.) Very few answer the call. Positions available. Apply yourself to the Word, then apply. No mammoth-hunting required.
Questions:
• How many similarities to other films did you spot in "10,000 B.C."?
• Did anything in the film surprise you?
• Does it bother you to watch a film is built on a foundation of spirit worship? Do you believe some spirits (or demons) have real supernatural power?
• What did you think of Tic'Tic's definition of leadership and manhood?
• What are your goals for future leadership? Do you hope to serve God's church as a leader? Why or why not?