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10,000 B.C.

Given the hype, AND the endless (limitless is a more fitting word) possibilities for CGI to be exploited to the full in this premise, Emmerich's epic was a letdown. For all the movie-lovers who love a good helping of CGI in bits, this movie will rock your socks, but sorry...even with a totally open mind, it failed to impress me.

Plotwise there's not much to write home about - it concerns the survival instincts of various human tribes, kidnapping, rescue and adventure, and confrontations. You have a good idea by now. The characterisation is decent, with a gorgeous Camilla Belle leading the pack. The background score is overtly loud and mis-fitting in some places...BUT, the cinematography is absolutely dazzling. Some of the battle and confrontation sequences are exceptional in an otherwise flat movie.

I would say the direction was the biggest drawback. Emmerich couldn't decide whether to go for storyline/drama, or CGI-loaded sheer histrionics. The end product - a double dish of bloated-splotched experience which looks to promise so much, and delivers so little in the end. Want to see a better concoction? Catch Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C.

BUT, for the entertainment in sporadic moments in this one, I will give it ***.