SYNOPSICS
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998) is a English movie. Brett Leonard has directed this movie. Peter Horton,Liz Stauber,Kari Coleman,Charlene Sashuk are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1998. T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998) is considered one of the best Adventure,Family,Fantasy movie in India and around the world.
Ally Hayden is a teenager who shares her father's interest in dinosaurs and archaeology. When he brings a mysterious fossil back from a dig, she is convinced it's the egg of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. After accidentally knocking the egg to the floor, Ally begins to experience visions, as if she was being transported back in time to the Cretaceous period. There, she encounters several different dinosaurs, including her favorite, the mighty T-Rex.
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998) Trailers
Same Director
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998) Reviews
Short, but entertaining
From the bulk of reviews on this site I gather most people don't realize that IMAX is about presentation and style rather than story and content. Shot on vertical 70mm film the reels in the projection booth take up a huge amount of space, thus the running time of IMAX movies tends to be kept to around 45-50 minutes. Thus the format lends itself more towards the documentary/short movie genre. Most of the movies are factual but sometimes original stories come along. T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous is one of them. It came out in 1998 and when I was at the Trocadero IMAX-3D cinema in London I had to choose between this movie and another called Across the Sea of Time. I chose the latter. Which is a shame coz the dinosaurs and huge shots of this movie would have looked better in 3D. T-Rex begins with an impressive opening shot of the camera swooping over the Arizona desert, which still looks great even on a widescreen TV instead of the huge IMAX screen. There's a hefty narration from the lead actress conveying relevant information about dinosaurs. In this respect the film feels a bit like a 10-year-old's educational program. But being familiar with IMAX movies I was expecting this. I think too many people were expecting a Jurassic Park variant. Tho I would have expected a few more dinosaurs. In the 45 minute running time there wasn't much dinosaur action. Though there was a good amount of story that I did get into. Plus the movie has a great score by William Ross. He released a promo CD of this score but it's impossible to find. Hey, I was entertained and I thot the brief story was quite okay. The horribly slanderous reviews on this site really baffle me. The IMAX format does not work well on DVD, you have to see these movies in the cinema. But if you have a good sound system then the DVD is still worth it. The DVD is in 1.33:1 full frame (they are shown theatrically at 1.44:1 so there isn't much modification to the framing) with a Dolby 5.1 soundtrack that is quite impressive. A slight featurette and an IMAX movies trailer are also included.
Lame
I won't repeat what others have so correctly said about this movie. I only wish to respond to an assertion that this movie is one that might only be enjoyed by children under 6. I took my two boys (5 and 3) to see this movie so they could see dinosaurs roaming the large IMAX screen. Instead we saw a slack-jawed teenage girl and her father walking around a museum. I don't think many dinosaur-loving 6 and unders would even like this movie. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!!!
An awful rip-off! Virtually NO dinosaurs! Don't go!
This is the very worst of the IMAX 3-D movies, and most of them are pretty awful. When you go to this movie, what do you want to see? Dinosaurs in 3-D, am I right? That's what you want to see, that's what the trailers promise you, and that is the very thing you DON'T get. There is, without exaggeration, MAYBE two minutes of dinosaurs in this 45-minute film. The IMAX movies are made for a huge audience of kids, so they're always cramming them with wholesome stories of youngsters who are just trying to find themselves. That's great, but I came here to see dinosaurs. No. Instead we get some girl with a VERY BROAD acting style wandering around the Natural History museum at night having PSYCHOTIC BREAKS in which she thinks she's seeing dinosaurs. Which would be fine, if there were more dinosaurs. But NO... let's meet PALENTOLOGISTS! Whooo! Big excitement! PALENTOLOGISTS IN 3-D! Guess what? I could follow some crazy girl around a museum for FREE, and that would be in 3-D, too. Which is not even to mention having to sit through the wretched "story" about how she feels neglected by her womanizing yuppie scumbag father, played by Peter Horton (formerly of "Thirtysomething") with the same smug arrogance he always has. Our protagonists mother is nowhere to be seen, so what are we supposed to think about the out-of-place and POINTLESS flirtation dad has with his pert young assistant while neglected daughter is at home? We're supposed to think that it's a lot cheaper to film bad ABC Afterschool Specials than it is to show dinosaurs. This film is a RIP-OFF SUPREME. I actually found the IMAX website and wrote to them to complain about it (no free tickets yet). I can't even imagine that a child would enjoy this. SAVE YOURSELVES! I'VE SACRIFICED MYSELF! YOU DON'T HAVE TO! If you want to watch a rip-off of Jurassic Park just rent Godzilla. --- Check out website devoted to bad and cheesy movies: www.cinemademerde.com
amazing 3D
This being really the first full narrative IMAX film, I applaud the film-makers. The 3D aspect is taken advantage of. But unless it's viewed in 3D (which only certain theaters provide) a majority of the enjoyment will be lost.
Elegant
When I saw local Shakespearean actor Liz Stauber was starring in an Imax 3-D film featuring dinosaurs, I figured she could only have done it for only two reasons, money, and to get recognition, and thus use it as a stepping stone to later projects. I was pleasantly surprised that while this film has some nice special effects on display, although no better or worse than that of _Jurassic Park_ or _Dragonheart_, this was very much unlike those two, but a children's educational film with the young protagonist, Ally (Stauber) at the center, and not as a stick-figure in a special effects reel. As Ray Bolger said about Judy Garland, she's not pretty, but in a way she's beautiful. Her voice sounds pretty bored at the beginning, but that's because she is not where she wants to be. The marvelous transitions, particularly the Buddha statues, show off Brett Leonard's (The Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity) style. The film makes beautiful use of 3-D, and does not overdo it with throwing things at you, and puts the actors right in front of you. Viewed as a children's film, it is quite an accomplishment in its 46 minutes. The artist Charles Knight is a major factor, and he has an important lesson for Ally, and for the young (and old) members of the audience. Liz Stauber went to my high school, and my theatre prof in college thought she was ripped off last year when an older actor (Marita Clarke) was cast as the female Puck over her, placing her as Peaseblossom, but here she takes the center stage, and ought to be getting a lot of calls now. Kevin Williamson already has. Take the kids. This is no special effects film, despite how it has been billed, so it may leave some people quite unsatisfied.