10,000 B.C. (PG-13, 2008)

common sense media says

Violent, poorly conceived prehistoric action.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this special effects-heavy action-adventure features lots of violent scenes that pit prehistoric tribesmen against large fierce animals and each other (sometimes in massive armies). Action scenes include hunts, chases, and fights; weapons include mallets, spears, nets, and huge knives (sometimes used to bloody effect). Several key characters are killed. There's also some minor cleavage and some questionable stereotyping.

Positive messages: Some racial/ethnic stereotyping seems to be at play -- the mostly light-skinned Yagahl tribe members are noble victims, while the darker-skinned warlords are brutal and the darkest-skinned Naku (and similar tribes) are eager to be led into combat and salvation.
Violence: Hunting scenes show tribesmen chasing, spearing, and throwing nets on mammoths. Humans also do battle with giant birds and show fear before a saber-toothed tiger. Fights among men include hitting, kicking, and weapons (mallets, spears, arrows, knives), sometimes resulting in bloody cuts and bruises. Loud, fast chase scenes; combat scenes involving massive armies. Brutal violence against slaves (they're dragged, shackled, tied up, whipped, bloodied, and thrown off of tall pyramids (body with broken back is visible). So-called "warlords" attack a village, killing innocents, burning huts, and taking prisoners. A young boy sees his mother killed (a knife through her back), and he cries. A boy is slapped hard and stepped on by a slavemaster. Key characters are mortally wounded, leaving their comrades very sad and sometimes vengeful.
Sex: Repeated flirtations between D'Leh and Evolet (as children and as adults); a warlord shows special interest in Evolet, finally approaching her with intent to "have" her. Evolet shows cleavage in some costumes.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on 10,000 B.C.

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can discuss the film's accuracy. How much do we know about prehistoric life? How do you think the filmmakers decided on their version of the past? What parts do you think were sensationalized or fictionalized for impact? How could you find out more about the facts about this time in history if you wanted to? Families can also discuss whether they think the film plays on racial stereotypes. What parts of the movie might back up that theory? Does the movie rely on any other clichés? If so, what?

What's the story?

What's the story?
10,000 B.C. begins amid the Yagahl tribe, with narrator Omar Sharif detailing the requisite legend (concerning a "child with blue eyes") and rough terrain. When a father leaves the tribe, his young son is taunted as the "son of a coward." The boy, D'Leh (who grows up to be played by Steven Strait), takes solace from his mentor, Tic'Tic (Cliff Curtis), who trains him to hunt giant mammoths and encourages him to keep faith in himself. A band of ferocious warlords arrives on horseback, kidnapping the blue-eyed Evolet (Camilla Belle), object of D'Leh's affection. He leads a small group across snowy mountains, jungles, and a gigantic desert until they find the villains driving slaves to build pyramids in worship of a man they call "God" (Tim Barlow). D'Leh has to muster his courage and lead a huge army -- his own few followers plus legions of desert dwellers -- in order to defeat the warlords and free the slaves.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
With its average plot, nondescript heroes, and stereotypical villains, 10,000 B.C. is a movie between a rock and a hard place. Indebted to director Roland Emmerich's own Stargate (1994), it offers little in the way of new ideas. While it's tedious enough that D'Leh is The One fated to free his people, he also turns out to be the savior for a large number of others. The other tribes are especially impressed that, fulfilling a longtime prophesy, D'Leh is "The one who speaks to the spear-tooth." (Yes, he literally speaks to an unconvincingly digitized saber-toothed tiger.)

Magical connection with felines notwithstanding, it's disconcerting that when light-skinned, movie-star handsome D'Leh arrives at the sandy site of his "destiny," he's surrounded by dark-skinned warriors who've apparently been waiting to be led to freedom and glory. Surely it's only coincidence that the sign of D'Leh's achievement is a White Spear. As if to emphasize this old-fashioned race dynamic, the villains -- especially the man who lusts after Evolet and his testy sidekick -- have large noses, dark skin, and terrible attitudes. That they must suffer mightily at the hands of the hero is no surprise; at least they don't have to witness the movie's utterly preposterous ending.

Kids looking for a fun movie with a prehistoric setting would be better served with Ice Age and its sequel.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Omar Sharif
Genre: Action/Adventure
Run time: 109 minutes
Theatrical release: March 6, 2008
DVD release: June 23, 2008
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: sequences of intense action and violence.
Watch our review

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 
 

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What parents & educators say

11

Most useful reviews by all members

 
Decent
Nothing spectacular, the movie is entertaining but no where near perfect. There is no language, no sex, and some violence. It has a poor plot.The beginning of the story is very exceting but the longer it goes on the more exhausting it becomes.

BFF GIRL THATS ...
teen, 14 years old
 
it got boring at times but other parts were action packed
ok truth, i thought the movie was going to be a little better than it was but still i didnt find myself that dissapointed in it. There were a couple scenes that were boring and they could have made a bit better but other parts were intense and action packed. So overall i liked it more than i dis liked it. I recomend to age 12+.

NicoleReeves
parent of 3 , 7 , 9 , 12 , 16 , and 18 year old
 
Not good, but not absolutely terrible
I really thought this movie was going to be better than it was. While I liked the fact that the main male lead was willing to risk it all for his one true love, the movie other than that just didn't do it for me. The plot really isn't that good, although there's not any bad language or sex in the movie which makes up for it a tiny bit.

Will Smith fan!
teen, 15 years old
 
awesome
very good! violent but not gorey! i loved it!

 
Boring!
There is a great deal of fighting, but the movie is boring! I watched it with my 3 year old and he was talking about elephants-mammoths. I was only worried he's be scared that the animals would be killed, not the people.

super movie ...
teen, 15 years old
 
a little dissapointing but.....
i love action packed and horror movies and i just couldent wait to see 10,000 B.C. But when i did see it i was a little dissapointed. I can't name exactly why there was something about it that didn't strike me as a great movie. But i still kinda liked it. Mainly i actually think this film was aimed at more mature viewers than me because the vilonce was almost non stop and the story was bit hard for me to comprehend.

moivieguy
parent of 13 year old
 
perfect for double digits

OldBob13
teen, 16 years old
 
A typical Emmerich film- great effects but very light on story
If you have watched any of Roland Emmerich's flims before, than you know for a fact he can't formulate a decent storyline. Independence Day was a blast to watch, but the story stunk. The Day After Tommorow had some excellent effects but the plotting was like a monkey thought of it. His one movie with a good storyline was The Patriot, though that wasn't a great movie anyway. Now we have 10,000 B.C. It falls into the same exact category: Superb effects but a horrible storyline. I'm sick of saying that, but it's the truth. So the story is about a tribe of mammoth hunters who are attacked and kidnapped to help build on a giant pyramid to appease a warlord. It's all light stuff, but it sure is dumb. Back to the special effects though. There great and detailed, especially the sabretooth and the mammoths. Still, it can't quite save the bad plotting, storyline, and (oh yeah) script. Bottomline: If you like the other cheesy Roland Emmerich films, than this one is definetly for you. Anyone else should tune out. Content issues abide in some graphics stabbings, hammerings, and crushings.

mlb444
adult
 
Awful movie about cavemen???
WORST MOVIE. The violence is mild and a pointless reason to rate it PG-13. Really dumb.

 
Enjoyable
I will agree that this movie is not historically relevant, but that doesn't mean it's bad. First of all, how many people would you think would go see this movie if it was in some ancient Aztec language? I think the movie directors had them speak English for a reason. Anyway, I thought this was a pretty enjoyable movie. It was fun to watch, and I loved seeing all of the places and costumes. I don't see why everyone hated it so much... but I would give this movie 3 1/2 stars, dispite it being historically incorrect.

 
First of all, I did not think that this was a horrible movie, but it certainly wasn't mind blowing. The special effects were pretty well done but the story line was lacking. You could tell what would happen in the end. I think the acting in this movie could have been better too. I wouldn't take anyone under 11 to see this movie because it does have some slightly scary elements that might not be appropriate for younger children.

DaMan15
adult
 
Not inapropriate. Just bad.
This movie was awful and no one of any age should waste money on it. It looked like some sort of prehistoric Lord of the Rings, but the story sucked, the acting sucked, and had little to nothing to do with prehistoric times (adding prehistoric animals < making up everything else.) Just stupid, avoid it.

Traxits
adult
 
I enjoyed this.
I know this has gotten really terrible reviews, but honestly, this movie is exactly what the previews promised that it would be. If you were expecting anything else, then you didn't really watch the previews.

diluka
teen, 16 years old
 
good movie

moviefan22
teen, 13 years old
 
Dumb movie...
I was really excited to see this movie, and when I did, I was extremely disappointed. The violence is fairly mild, and some parts are very very boring. Do not see; it's a complete waste of an hour and 41 mins. Should of been PG also.

skidoo 4001
teen, 16 years old
 
really stupid
this looked like a good movie at first but then i saw it and hated it. i loved day after tommorow and independece day but this was really dumb. im actually being kind of generous about my one star rating because of the great special effects.sorry. for once i agree with common sense media

CSM Screen ...
teen, 14 years old
 
10,000 B.C. is a bore but there is nothing inappropriate for kids.
10,000 B.C. is a very mild film. The violence isn't a big issue but it's still concerning. There is no blood nor gore but there is a lot of intense action here. The language is extremely mild and there's hardly any here considering this is PG-13. There is no drugs/smoking in the film. There is no nudity, no sex, no sexual innuendo, no sexual references. Basically no sexual content. Overall don't worry about 10,000 B.C. being PG-13. It's very mild.

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