# T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998)

### reviewed by
Edward Johnson-Ott

T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998) Peter Horton, Liz Stauber, Kari Coleman, Laurie Murdoch, Tuck Milligan. Screenplay by Andrew Gellis and Jeanne Rosenberg, based on a story by Gellis and David Young. Music by William Ross. Produced by Antoine Compin and Charis Horton. Directed by Brett Leonard. 45 minutes. NR, 4 stars (out of five stars)

Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com

Remember the scene in "Jurassic Park" where a character avoids becoming human sushi by standing perfectly still, even as the massive head of a mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex looms mere inches from his own? In the Imax feature, "T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous," you get to be that character, with an incredibly realistic 3-D thunder lizard baring its teeth so close to your face that you can almost feel its hot breath on your cheeks.

"T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous," offers the most effective use of 3-D and the best special effects of any Imax production to date. For those who marvel at dinosaurs, this is an absolute must-see. That said, the production suffers from the same liabilities that have hobbled previous Imax 3-D offerings. Wafer-thin plotlines, underdeveloped characters and too many stodgy educational sequences are hallmarks of Imax movies, and the features still play more like engaging novelties than fully- satisfying films.

Going to an Imax movie is a lot like visiting any exhibit at Disney's Epcot theme park. In exchange for a few minutes of razzle-dazzle, you must submit to long stretches of scholastic force-feeding. Please understand, I'm all for learning, but at $8 for a 45-minute movie, the emphasis should firmly be on entertainment. In the case of "T-Rex," that translates into a strong craving for more dinosaurs and less paleontology.

Director Brett Leonard ("The Lawnmower Man," "Virtuosity") uses spectacular 3-D effects to inject as much excitement as possible into the tepid story of the strained relationship between obsessed paleontologist Donald Hayden (Peter Horton) and his neglected daughter, Ally (Indianapolis native Liz Stauber). During an early scene at an archeological dig, rock fragments fly straight into the face of the audience. The effect was so convincing that it sent a brave six-year-old sitting next to me diving under his seat for cover.

Another shot of a woman dropping 35 feet down the side of a cliff also maximizes the 3-D effect. The cast worked without stunt doubles and actor Kari Coleman noted "All I could think about when we were doing that stunt fall was 'Boy, people will be sitting in an Imax theater seeing my rear end six stories high just coming at them in 3-D.'"

The big find from the dig is a fossil that may just be a Tyrannosaurus egg. That's the hope of young Ally, who wants to prove her theory that dinosaurs were the ancestors of today's birds. More importantly, the girl is sick of being left at the museum and dreams of the day when her preoccupied pop will finally give her the attention and respect she deserves.

After way too much filler, we finally get to the good stuff when Ally knocks the fossil to the floor and the object cracks, emitting a mysterious dust. Strange things begin to happen around Ally in the darkened museum. First, a T-Rex skeleton comes to life, turning to roar right into the camera. The magic continues as Ally wanders into various dinosaur exhibits, traveling through time to see the real thing.

Between visits with a couple of historical figures, the young woman encounters a number of dinosaurs, beautifully rendered in the most convincing computer graphics this side of Steven Spielberg. A Pteranodon swoops in front of our faces, impressively flapping its huge leathery wings. An Ornithomimus, looking like the mischievous kid brother of a raptor, snatches an egg from the nest of T-Rex, triggering an angry response from a protective T-Rex mama. The climax comes when a meteor screams down from the heavens, triggering the death knell of the giant lizards and the beginning of the Ice Age.

The 3-D dinosaur scenes are perfectly realized and incredibly cool. If only there were more of them. Sure, computer graphics are expensive, but the Imax folks can certainly afford the costs. Less educational exposition, a better storyline and more dinosaur scenes would have made "T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous" the event of the season. As is, the feature is still a hoot, but you'll likely find yourself fidgeting right along with the kids as you wait for the film to kick into high gear.

    © 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott

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