I didn't want to see this movie. I saw it because I wanted to go see a movie. And thus, this was the choice. And I'm glad I took it. I'm a pretty trusting person, I don't remember the last time I locked my car, and when I read the 9% approval rating (aka bad) on RottenTomatoes, I was somewhat put off. The main complaint: historical inaccuracy.
That got me thinking: is it? First, let me get this out of the way, this is an action movie, NOT a documentary. It is not based off of the conventional theories of ancient human history, it's based off of the Robert Bauval/Graham Hancock theories theorizing that the pyramids were built by a civilization in 10,000 BC that had lost their own civilization (ala Atlantis). And anyone who knows anything about this theory will recognize things like the Piri Reis map and other well-researched articles throughout the film. It's almost like an inside joke shared only by those who have actually studied archeology beyond what what they've told you in school.
The other common complaint about the film is that it's dumb, but to be honest, it's only dumb to dumb people, while smart people educated in 'alternate' archeology will find it quite intelligent. Alas this movie is a fantasy. And if you go into the theater expecting a dead-on accurate historical depcition of (conventional) prehistoric life, you should be watching Apocalypto, and not because I think that's any better, but people have put Mel Gibson up on a pedestal next to God lately so his word must be true, right?
The story is clichéd, the dialogue is bad and almost laughable, but that's not what this is about. The action and combat is riveting, watching the rebels storm the Mountain of the Gods (the Pyramids) will get your adrenaline pumping, and the opening sequence of giant mammoths storming across the valley reminiscent of the apatosaurs in 2005's King Kong is breathtaking. I enjoyed 10,000 BC, much more than I thought I would. And if you can look past the indescrepencies and horrendous acting, you will find that Roland Emmerich's film does exactly what it sets out to do: entertain us. And at that it does a fine, fine job.
Score: 7.5/10
