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History Lessened

"12,000 years in the making!"

"A Girl… a Boy… a Prophecy Foretold… and Some Woolly Mammoths."

With the future picked clean of ideas, writer/director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) takes a step backward… way backward to a time when little recorded history exists (convenient because it makes "historical accuracy" less of an issue) with 10,000 B.C. It might have been nice if he had played fair with geography though (exactly which snowy peaks are a few days hike from the arid Egyptian desert anyway?) and perhaps respected evolutionary zoology (I don't recall seeing over sized man-eating lizard-like ostriches in the nature books). But, hey an artist is allowed to take some liberties, after all, and we can always blame global warming.

Without giving too much away, here's the synopsis: peaceful tribe is invaded by band of warriors collecting fresh slaves for their oppressive god-like overlord. Many are captured including Young Hunter's girlfriend. Wise Elder reveals prophecy that tribe will be saved by a brave hunter and his mate. Young Hunter (could he be "the one?") follows warriors in rescue mission, collecting more oppressed peoples along the way. The story culminates in an epic battle against god-like overlord in a valiant attempt to rescue oppressed peoples.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. I have and it was called Apocalypto. Or was that Braveheart, or maybe The Ten Commandments? At its core, it's really just another telling of Jung's "hero" archetypal myth, and, as such, it is sure to resonate with some on a deep psychological level. But the point is that it has been done before, in many cases better than it has here.

Of course, as a Roland Emmerich production, things are over the top. Why have one or two woolly mammoths when you can have dozens? And why call upon one mystical prophecy when you can bring in three, count 'em three prophecies, each more specific and far-fetched than the last?

Yes, there's little new here but it doesn't mean the film is a total loss. After all, it is a Roland Emmerich production and when you see that name in the opening credits, you know you're in for a grand, sweeping, big budget adventure. The cinematography features bold shots and expansive vistas, blending the real and the computer-generated fairly seamlessly (though a few of the extras in the woolly mammoth charge are clearly animated fabrications). The manufactured CGI beasties are impressive, particularly the mammoths and the saber-toothed tiger, though some are somewhat unbelievable (e.g., the afore-mentioned dinosaur-like über-ostriches).

The lead characters (Steven Strait as the hunter D'Leh, Camilla Belle as the girl Evolet), if not the top actors of their time, at least possess enough charisma and sheer good looks to keep you watching, and the supporting cast features strong performances from Cliff Curtis as brave senior hunter Tic'Tic and Affif Ben Badra as the evil Warlord. The original score by Harold Klouser effectively alternates dramatic classical compositions with raw driving tribal rhythms, reinforcing and accentuating the story (such as it is) as it unfolds.

But when it comes down to it, the whole is decidedly less than the sum of its parts. The characters are sadly under-developed, the plot fairly thin and the main villain ultimately under-whelming. About 100 minutes after it begins, the film crescendos into a climax that is strangely anti-climactic and unfulfilling.  You are left wondering why you didn't enjoy it more - why you didn't care more. Ah well, there's always the inevitable director's cut, coming soon to a Blu-ray Disc near you. Maybe then it will all make sense.