If 10,000 B.C. is a movie you have your heart set on seeing, then there is no doubt you will want to see it on the big screen. In fact, if fantastical movies are your standard fare, or spectacular CGI effects are a must-see, then this movie should be on your calendar. As far as the storytelling and plot of this flick are concerned, the script cheats in a few areas. But, it is forgivable if only because it takes a rather simple tale, and twists it a bit, so as to move it beyond being utterly predictable. The acting is not bad, and at times touching, which is saying a lot, since the setting and script are not geared toward big dramatic moments for the most part. Direction is good, and the cinematography can be a bit dark, but the vistas chosen for filming this movie are breathtaking, while the ground-level shots are properly claustrophobic.
If there is a main problem with this film, beyond the thin plot, it might be the sound. At times, it is difficult to understand what is being said, and several people noted this difficulty when it happened repeatedly during the film. Keep your ears open whenever the camera moves in close to a scene that is obviously meant to be poignant or intimate. Toward the end of those scenes, there is often a line or word that gets muffled or eaten by the actor speaking. I can’t help but think that a little more time in the studio re-recording some of the dialogue or re-mixing the sound could have benefited this movie.
The film does an interesting bit of civilization-glomming to piece together its fantasy world, cherry-picking a number of real world cultures. Bits of Near East, African, Native American and other customs and costuming tropes are utilized to dress the various tribal and ethnic groups populating this imaginary landscape. I think the filmmakers do a credible enough job making the world in which the film takes place feel familiar, without overtly trying to portray things as an alternate history. The Egyptian-style pyramids in the City of the Gods might tread most closely to the line, but it allows for some excellent set pieces to ramp up the action, so to speak, at the end of the film.
Effects-wise, there are more than enough mammoths, and close call mammoth stompings to warrant their near-overuse. While looking forward to the saber-tooth tiger shots, in particular, it was surprising the creature played so small a role in the film, even though it is pivotal to the plot. The film surprises further by including another prehistoric creature, a number of this type, that almost make up for the lean use of the big cat.
The battle sequences might have been a little better choreographed, but at least they avoided the cliché of having either wire-fu, or some other quasi-martial arts maneuvers being the province of what are meant to be barely trained overlord warriors fighting against uprising slaves, townsfolk and hunters. There are some tough warriors on both sides of the major conflicts, but it would have been a mistake to make this film emulate levels of technology and fight-training beyond the pseudo-Stone and Bronze Ages. It just would not have fit well, and it is wise they avoided this pitfall.
The leads acting in this film are all attractive enough, without being made to seem glamorous or overly buff. They all represent peoples living in harsh conditions, and except for a few elders in the tribes or the elite shamans/priests, the shape the people are in is fitting to the story. Casting all around is very good and aside for Omar Sharif narrating, the cast is not made up of really big names or star power, though most of the core cast have indeed spent a good deal of their lives in front of the camera, including the younger stars. There are no oddball cameos or people cast for that combination of physical size coupled with semi-star status like some of the older B-movies used to do (no models or athletes crossing over into acting).
The pacing of the film suffers in a couple of places where the story is meant to pull the audience in, and make them hope the characters will not give up. This would work better if the movie was more character driven, but the depth is just not there to support those moments of direction. But, again, those scenes are fairly brief and do not detract too much from the overall story, except for the aforementioned sound problems.
The bottom line is that this movie comes close to being on par with the typical summer blockbuster as a spectacle but comes up a bit short in the script and star power. Likely, the filmmakers planned for a late winter release to avoid the competition of Oscar films toward the end of the year and the big films just around the corner. Take it in on the big screen as a matinee and it can be viewed in all its big screen glory without damaging your budget in too regrettable a fashion.