10,000 B.C.Movie Reviews

Poster art for "10,000 B.C."

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
No
Avg. Critic Score: 34 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 Iffy for 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    As one might expect, there are campy moments and far too much reliance on God-like interventions in the affairs of early man. Less expected is that 10,000 BC works just fine as an action Western with handsome actors in striking costumes and a few CG predators, which are giddy fun. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    10,000 BC is as crazy as it wants to be, plundering the past and other movies with that peculiar Hollywood combination of the earnest and the preposterous that can result in the guiltiest of guilty pleasures. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    The big, climactic fight, complete with an epic snuffleupagus rampage, is decent action-movie fun. And as a history lesson, 10,000 BC has its value. It explains just how we came to be the tolerant, peace-loving farmers we are today, and why the pyramids were never finished. Read full review

  • 40
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Conventional where it should be bold and mild where it should be wild, 10,000 BC reps a missed opportunity to present an imaginative vision of a prehistoric moment. Read full review

  • 38
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Within a few minutes into the ponderous prehistoric pseudo-epic that is 10,000 B.C., you find yourself longing for George of the Jungle to crash into a tree or the Geico cavemen to amble up and put an end to the droning seriousness of this tedious tale. Read full review

  • 30
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    One part Joseph Campbell hero quest, one part multi-culti morality tale, one part live-action "Flintstones" cartoon, 10,000 B.C. is finally every part just plain nuts, from a hike featuring more ecosystems than an Al Gore documentary to a wacky climax set amid pyramids that -- you'll e-mail me if I'm wrong -- wouldn't have been built for another 7,000 years or so. Read full review

  • 25
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Call it "Apocalypto" for pussies -- a PG-13 rating, puh-leese! -- or prehistory for peabrains. Just don't call it friendo. 10,000 B.C. will take your money, rob your time and hit your brain like a shot of Novacaine. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    Completely ridiculous, but fun to look at. Read full review

  • 25
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Neither grand enough to be impressive nor antic enough to be charming, the movie settles for bland and frantic, climaxing in a showdown among decadent pyramid builders. How bad are these guys? They're sadists...and, wink wink, sissies. Read full review

  • 25
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    So, yea, it is a stinker. But it is prophesied that in six months time you shall come across 10,000 B.C.' in the land of Pay-Per-View. And you shall say: ''Pass the popcorn.'' Read full review

View more reviews for 10,000 B.C. on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 12+ Violent, poorly conceived prehistoric action.
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.
  • 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?
The good stuff
  • message true0 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.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 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 false0 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 false0 Language: Not an issue
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

10,000 B.C. Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook