Review: 10,000 BC

By Vic Holtreman
Rating:

2.5 out of 5

Short version: While there's an attempt to make this a personal story, it's really about what we thought it would be: Incredible vistas populated with a combination of ancient temples, pyramids, woolly mammoths and a cast of (CGI) thousands.

Two weeks ago I posted my thoughts about 10,000 B.C. based on what I'd seen so far and at the panel for the film at WonderCon, and one of the words that came to mind regarding what director Roland Emmerich had in mind for this film was "spectacle."

Oh, and it tries oh so very hard to live up to that word.

The best I can say about 10,000 BC is that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.

New 10,000 B.C. Details Revealed

I think it's inevitable that the new Roland Emmerich film 10,000 B.C. will have a killer opening weekend so I guess I'll talk about it a bit more.

At the WonderCon panel they debuted a brand new trailer, which built upon the previous one in terms of impressive visuals. If I had to come up with one word to describe what's been shown so far it would have to be: Spectacle.

The movie seems to be all about incredible vistas populated with a combination of ancient temples, pyramids, woolly mammoths and a cast of (CGI) thousands. Even though it looks to me like this will be the worst sort of fluff, you never know. Perhaps with the proper attitude adjustment before entering the theater, it could turn out to be good fluff.

10,000 B.C.: They REALLY Want You To Go See It

[UPDATE: It's been announced that the new Iron Man trailer will be attached to 10,000 B.C. as well.]

I'm already prepared for the haters, the "hey man, can't you just enjoy a #$#$%ing movie" commenters, and the "movie reviewers don't know $#$#" crowd on this one. I think that 10,000 B.C. will be lame at best and laughable at worst.

Director Roland Emmerich has been wildly hit or miss with the movies he's made. On the good side, he brought us the original Stargate movie, the fun popcorn flick Independence Day and the Mel Gibson movie The Patriot. On the other hand he's also brought us Universal Soldier, Godzilla and The Day After Tomorrow.

Now call me crazy, but I think the latest news on this one supports my opinion of it. It's being reported by various sources that not one but two trailers to movies that are very buzzworthy will be attached to 10,000 B.C. when it opens. The kind of trailers that are almost enough to drag people to see a movie just for the trailer itself.

Which trailers am I talking about?

10,000 BC: First Full Trailer

According to CHUD, the trailer premiered on G4's Attack of the Show, a painfully hip daily program covering movies, videogames, viral videos and the like. Why Warner Bros. didn't then put it on Apple.com or Yahoo! Movies is beyond me, but anyway... It's in Quicktime over there and if you want a more browser-friendly version you can watch the trailer in Flash below.

Ugh. You Want See 10,000 BC Poster?

There's a new poster out for the upcoming prehistoric flick 10,000 BC. "From the director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow." Are you excited yet?

Poster appears after the jump...

First Trailer For 10,000 BC

I'd heard about the Roland/Emmerich movie 10,000 BC a while back but didn't think much of it since it seems the films they've made since their no-brainer (but totally fun) popcorn flick Independence Day have been pretty weak. But today the first trailer has been release for their latest opus and as usual for their films it's filled with great visuals.

But will there be anything more to it than that?