Director: Dustin Ferguson
Year: 2020
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Dinosaurs
Plot:
Following the release of a deadly T-Rex, residents of a local Los Angeles neighborhood find themselves forced to deal not only with the escaped dino but the effects of a disease it carries, forcing them to find a way to survive the infectious elements in order to stop it.
Review:
There was a lot to like with this one. One of it’s stronger elements is the highly enjoyable setup that manages to cram quite a bit of story into this than expected. In a rapid-fire montage of clever exposition, the idea of giving the various figures going into battle against the creature, how it got turned into the mutated species it is and how the countermeasures are in force to stop it. This creates a fine grounding for everything to come while also managing to get the dinosaur free and going out on the loose which is the entire point.
That is put to good use where the majority of the film is based on encounters with the creature or the efforts to stop it. As the attacks might fall into the nonsensical here with the creature sneaking up on people inconspicuously, the rampage through the suburbs, the encounter at the statue park or fighting with the bounty hunter in the woods offers a fun mix of cheesy sequences. Once this gets the military involved in the finale picking up from the action to start this off, it picks up considerably as the action is cheesy and over-the-top try to stop it. Overall, these are the film’s positive elements.
There are some minor issues. The first problem here is the rather confusing manner of how fast this goes into the storyline that manages to skip over important factors needed to get into it. Although there’s a lot to like with this aspect, the creation of the dinosaur in the first place or how it got loose are missed out on, only that it did which can cause some whiplash trying to catch up. As well, the fact that the segments involving the friends in the bunker are shot in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to see due to the fluorescent lighting and constant close-ups makes these scenes somewhat confusing.
The last issue with this one is to be expected with the silly and goofy effects work for the creature. This factor isn’t really a shock, as the CGI is somewhat obvious in the usual elements of not being convincing in how the creatures’ dimensions change frequently depending on the scene it’s in, making for some comical scenes where the creature doesn’t match it’s supposed size in the environment. As well, the sting in the finale tends to come out of nowhere and set up a potential sequel at the expense of being logically integrated into the main story which just ends abruptly, but these aren’t too detrimental and don’t hold this back too much.
Overview: ***/5
A highly enjoyable and cheesy creature feature that’s quite action-packed if somewhat nonsensical, those aware of what’s to be expected in such a film will be quite at home here. Fans of the creative crew or cheesy creature feature will absolutely enjoy this one, while those who don’t appreciate either of those elements won’t really enjoy what’s on display here.
Comments
Post a Comment