Customer Reviews

Year One (Theatrical & Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(39)

 

 

I seem to find myself in the minority here, but I actually liked "Year One". Having seen it in the theater, I thought it was a fairly fun and light-hearted experience all around. The humor is perhaps not as broad as some prefer-but myself, I sort of enjoyed the subtleties. These type of films usually benefit from a second or even third viewing if you give them a chance.

In "Year One", Jack Black plays his part adequately but seems to yield the majority of the spotlight to his on-screen cohort Michael Cera. Michael Cera is the real star of "Year One" and Black seems to know it-taking a step back for the younger comedic actor to really shine. Cera's comedic delivery is dry and spot-on for his character "Oh" and he plays the part with real charismatic charm. In short, it is Cera's film, not Black's-and I wouldn't have had it any other way.


When it comes down to it, Year One is just a harmless little diversionary film which doesn't take itself too seriously and nor should you. I personally thought it had a lot of wit and charm. Perhaps it just didn't strike the majority of audiences in the same way. That's too bad too because personally, I found this film far more entertaining than some of the summer's bloated special effects films.

Surprisingly, this film looks amazing on Blu-Ray too-especially the city scenes.

I've read a couple of critical reviews of this movie and can't help but laugh at the disdain for this movie. I don't see how people expected greatness and depth out of a movie with Jack Black set in prehistoric and biblical times. I mean could they not see that by looking at the cover with a clean shaven, doe eyed Cera cast as a caveman? You want comedic depth, go watch "Best in Show" or "Arrested Development". You want silly and mindless toilet humor, then watch this.

I didn't go into this movie expecting an Oscar worthy movie or ground breaking performance, in fact nobody should. This movie is obviously intended for you to shut your brain down and let go for a couple of hours. I really enjoyed this movie and love Black in these type of roles. Cera plays the same role as he did in "Superbad" which isn't a bad thing since he's perfect as the shy awkward guy. You get that this movie is going in a whole different direction from the on-set of the movie when the cavemen speak with current day dialogue. It's right at that point where you're either sticking with it or bailing because even the most novice move watcher knows that this isn't "History of the World". If you like stuff from the Apatow troupe then this movie might be up your alley. If you don't get the Apatow reference then you obviously won't get this movie.

This film makes use of anachronisms, puns, and other devises to pock fun at history, philosophy, theology, the Bible, biblical language, sex, Rome, God, and other subjects. It is also filled with the ridiculous, such as when one of the heroes is chained upside down in prison and pees, and the urine flows down over his head, or when he saves a virgin from being a sacrifice by having sex with her.

The story begins when one of two foolish cave men friends eats the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and thinks that he has suddenly and miraculously become smart. But the other inhabitants of the cave men village exile him for his sin, and he discovers the use of fire when he accidentally burns down the village. His friend joins him in the exile. They decide to go to the end of the earth and see the phenomenon.

They run into Cain and Abel on the other side of the mountain and see the former kill the later. They drive in a cart, which has wheels, a new invention they had never seen before, and become seasick in the slow ox-pulled cart. There is a slow moving ox-cart chase when Cain's father chases him because of the murder. The two cave men encounter Abraham and stop him from sacrificing his son Isaac. When Abraham tells them that he heard from God that he needs to cut people's foreskin, they escape to the city of joy, Sodom. There they learn that it hasn't rained for a long time. One of them enters the holy of holies, which is forbidden, for if a person enters, he will die. When he exits the holy of holies unharmed, people think that he is the "chosen one." These are just some of the many adventures.

This movie appeared much more funny from previews, but seeing it in theaters just did not live up to the hype. As I mentioned in my title it is mostly Jack Black, acting as Jack Black (Loud, Outlandish, Stupid) and Michael Cera acting as his characters usually would (Awkward, shy, quiet) but in a biblical setting.

The movie begins in a small village with Black and Cera as friends. Black is a hunter and Cera is a gatherer. After eating from the tree of knowledge, Black is excommunicated from the village and Cera decides to follow, while the other members of the village are taken prisoner including Cera's love interest.

The story continues leading the characters to several biblical events that are quite entertaining such as meeting Abraham, Cain and Able, Sodom, and many other events. Black and Cera continue on their quest finally liberating the village from their enslavement and capture and Cera becomes a more confident individual and gains the attention of his love interest.

Overall the action is predictable and some of the moments in the movie miss their mark but with a few one liners and some interesting biblical references this movie is pretty good once or twice.

This movie definitly has slow parts and jokes that don't always work as well as intended, so don't expect this to be a summer blockbuster. Don't have any high expectations for any Jack Black movie or Michael Cera movie really... If you like history or the humanitites you will definitly enjoy this movies multiple settings as they go through the early centuries. I would recommend at least a rental, if you're bored and are looking for something to mindlessly enjoy.

I had high hopes for this movie. At first, it looks like it's all about prehistoric man and cavemen, but then as the two guys go forth, they find Bible-level technology (Ancient Greece/Persia/Rome/Israel), though the history in here is inaccurate in some parts, and I'm a little foggy on whether this 'Year One' refers to Year One CE/1 CE or just Year One in the course of recorded/written history or some such.

I liked the message at the end that was like, man should try for their own destiny rather than letting some unseen god decide it for them, and pokes fun at violent religious sacrifices like the command that more virgins were to be sacrificed despite the fact that virgin sacrifices before hadn't worked for them, and the debate that Oh had with the priest about the Holy of Holies was also amusing and thought-provoking. I feel that this movie was produced with the best efforts of some people, but it doesn't seem that they all came quite together as a team (particularly, producers and writers - not the actors, which I felt were good) to make a movie that felt disjointed and confusing, but at least better than the movie 10,000 BC.

I did not have too high expectations for this movie, the plot looked silly and the actors are not the best in Hollywood. Suprisingly, the plot threw in many references to the Old Testament. They followed books of the bible in a similar way that Forrest Gump followed events in 60's culture. It was cleverly done. I was pleased to see Paul Rudd, although for only a brief appearance. Yes, it contained silly, teenage boy humor, but what else would you expect from a movie with Jack Black and Michael Cera? If you like these guys, you'll probably like this movie.

I don't understand all the one star reviews. It was funny, with outrageous takes on history. A bunch of comical performances by many actors. The formula wasn't original but I laughed most of the time. It was fast moving, interesting and FUNNY!

One of the funniest movies. Black and Cera deliver a great performance. The story with cave men blends ingeniously with the biblical accounts. The only negative about the movie is the overdone sexual insinuations and innuendo that made me uncomfortable watching it with children. It has too much of that for PG-13.

I loved this movie. I have to say, I wasn't expecting the biblical theme, I thought it was only about a couple of cavemen. And the part where Cain kills his brother and pretends Abel is still alive runs kind of long. Otherwise, the jokes were solid and the story well-crafted. It ran fluidly and was hilarious. Cera and Black are perfect complements for each other. Anyone saying that they were just playing the same old roles are right, but that's the point, they've played it every other time. I don't understand how anyone who has watched them before wouldn't love the movie, or why anyone who didn't enjoy their previous roles would watch it in the first place.