Age of Dinosaurs Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Age of Dinosaurs Blu-ray Movie Review

Who knew rampaging dinosaurs could be so boring?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 26, 2014

History comes alive and rewrites the present in Age of Dinosaurs, a "big" Asylum production about a scientist who genetically recreates dinosaurs that are loosed in the modern world. Sound familiar? Michael Crichton is probably rolling over in his grave (what a trite expression that is, but hey, what a lousy movie this is so...fight fire with fire, no? Wait, there's another one...). Anyway, Age of Dinosaurs does its best "real" movie impression but fizzles after a few moments of apparent legitimacy, turning into a bad special effects film while still trying to (admirably) reach for a level beyond that inhabited by the usual Asylum scrapheap movies. Director Joseph J. Lawson, who has helmed a few other Asylum projects like Nazis at the Center of the Earth and Clash of the Empires (look for a hidden Clash of the Empires movie poster in this film), does appear to have a grasp of the ins-and-outs of the filmmaking process and at least approaches the movie like something that would come from a major studio, with a bigger budget, and see a wider release, but he's hindered by a terrible script, poor visual effects, and an obvious lack of budget. Kudos for trying, anyway.

Don't move. But do snap a cellphone picture.

An esteemed scientist (Ronny Cox) has accomplished much in life. He can restore burned human skin to its natural beauty and he has even cured his own paralysis. Now, he's done something even more remarkable: returned dinosaurs to life. He presents his creations, tucked away behind the safety of unbreakable clear barriers, to an enthusiastic crowd that contains a Los Angeles firefighter named Gabe (Treat Williams) and his daughter Jade (Jillian Rose Reed). When the easily distracted Jade leaves the room to play on her cell phone, all hell breaks loose. The dinosaurs escape and endanger the lives of everyone inside. Gabe begins a frantic search for his daughter while L.A.P.D. does all it can to keep the dinosaurs contained inside the building, for allowing them to run loose on the streets of a major population center would be catastrophic.

Despite luring in two rather big name and readily identifiable actors in Ronny Cox and Treat Williams, Age of Dinosaurs succumbs to the usual negatives that keep Asylum movies from reaching the realm of the average. Even as the film feels like it's striving to be something better -- which is more than can be said for quite a few Asylum films -- it falls flat considering the multitude of problems, from minor continuity to major shot and scene rip-offs from other movies, from poor visual effects to bland acting, from a sluggish pace to a story that's stretched too far and thin. The film starts slowly and takes nearly a third of its runtime for the dinosaurs to escape their confines, an eternity in a movie like this that can't withstand the doldrums of lackadaisical characterization and trite exposition. Audiences are at least treated to an early shot ripping off one of the iconic moments from Alien: Resurrection, but the rest of the open is so dull that viewers will be tempted to join Jade by escaping the theater to play on the phone and listen to some tunes. Once the action gets rolling, however, the film further fades with an additional collection of problems.

For a movie with so much dinosaur-vs.-human mayhem, much of the second and thirds acts almost seem to play out in slow motion. The action is repetitive, beginning in the confines of the facility in which the dinosaurs were created (and home to a scene that copies one of the iconic moments from Jurassic Park in which Tim Murphy, played by Joseph Mazzello, hides in the kitchen from a dinosaur) and eventually moving out to the streets of Los Angeles (how did that dinosaur get on top of that building, again?) and winding up alongside one of Tinseltown's famous markers. For all of the maneuvering and running around, there's never much of a real sense of peril or fear, and on another level but one that's just as important, no sense of spectacle or wonder. The dinosaurs may as well have been replaced by whatever -- rabid tigers, aliens, anything -- and it wouldn't have made a lick of difference in the plot, requiring only a quick re-write of a few lines and a change in title to compensate. That's never a good sign, particularly when discussing a film's focal point.

Age of Dinosaurs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Age of Dinosaurs features a fairly good transfer. The 1080p, 1.78:1-framed image produces good, intimate details in close-ups, good enough to make the actors nervous for anyone watching on a larger screen. Background details and general frame clarity are excellent. Colors are even and satisfying, whether appearing on real life attire and background accents or digital dinosaurs. Flesh tones appear natural, and black levels never raise an alarm. The image does suffer from regular occurrences of banding, both in large swaths across numbers backgrounds or more subtle in difficult, shadowy skin transitions. Additionally, the transfer is home to a few compression-related issues and very light noise. Otherwise, a quality effort all around from The Asylum.

Age of Dinosaurs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Age of Dinosaurs features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. No additional tracks or subtitle options are available. Musical delivery is satisfying, fully featured around the stage even as it plays underneath the action rather than blaring on top of it. The track produces some loud, aggressive action effects, such as when a stampede of dinosaurs gets loose near film's end. The effects that produce the sounds of a swarming herd and the resultant trouncing and trampling are delivered with a quality surge of power and movement throughout the stage. However, ambient effects are frequently disappointing. Exteriors never find much sonic life, and a round of applause during the dinosaurs' introduction -- prior to their escape -- is shallow and dull, hardly invigorating and never enveloping. Dialogue flows through the center with even, commanding presence and accuracy.

Age of Dinosaurs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Age of Dinosaurs contains a quality commentary track, a brief behind-the-scenes featurette, and a gag reel.

• Audio Commentary: Appearing are Director Joe Lawson, Editor Rob Pallatina, and the Sound Department's Michael Hardman for an enjoyably candid, informative, and evenly delivered track that covers a lot of the behind-the-scenes materials and technical details of making a movie like this one.
• Making of Featurette (1080p, 5:34): Cast and crew cover a few elements from behind the scenes.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:11).
• Previews (1080p): Additonal Asylum titles.

Age of Dinosaurs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Age of Dinosaurs isn't particularly good, neither as a Jurassic Park knock-off nor as low-budget Action flick. To the filmmakers' credit, there's evidence of effort here, an honest-to-gooodness attempt to make the movie look like something bigger and better, but the lack of budget and creativity keep it at arm's length from even mediocre big boy fare, like the Jurassic Park sequels. If nothing else, it may leave viewers whistling John Williams' iconic Jurassic Park theme and itching to check out Steven Spielberg's vastly, vastly superior -- as in one of the all-time greats -- "dinosaurs alive" film. The Asylum's Blu-ray presentation of Age of Dinosaurs delivers serviceable video and audio. A few supplements, including a commentary track, are included. Rent it if a craving for a low-end Dinosaur flick strikes.