Wonderful Movie

From my favorite movies..

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Unfortunately, the production of this movie was indented for pre-teens. It's sad, because it could have been a blockbuster story. The dialog was horrendous and the direction lacking. Instead of presenting a new and different society and it's challenges, the plot line gets bogged down in adolescent-sounding sibling rivalry over the heroine. Surely, that could have been an element of the story, but it was certainly overemphasized here. The CG work wasn't up to current 2008 standards, but it WAS a 2002 film, and as such was good for it's era. I felt about 30 mins could have been cut from this long film for continuity and cohesiveness.

Hallmark Entertainment presents this fantasy adventure and misadventures of an idyllic lost land where a society has been created where dinosaurs and humans co-exist. Millionaire Frank Scott(Michael Brandon)and his two sons David(Shiloh Strong)and Karl(Erik Von Deeten)crash land their plane on Dinotopia. Realizing they will never get the chance to go back home, acclimating themselves is a tall order. The harmony of co-existence and a successful society is in danger when the source of power, sunstones, begin to fail. David and Karl are not shy in giving their all to protect and preserve their new home. Frank has opposition when trying to get the symbiotic population involved in a new industrial revolution; which failed them some two hundred years earlier. The live action and CGI prehistoric creatures look smoothly mixed making this fantasy escapism more enjoyable. Other cast members include: Lisa Zane, Georgina Rylance, Jonathan Hyde, Sophia Ward and John Owens.

Dinotopia is a fun and new series. It is not another knock-off like so many of the other programs broadcasted today. Dinotopia's premise supports the idea that a multi-cultural society can live and thrive in harmony. The eclectic scenery and costumes really support the multi-cultural aspect of Dinotopia. I was originally worried about the change of the cast from a miniseries to a regular series but I feel the actors have secured their own places in their Dinotopia roles. I have not read the books yet but after seeing the series, I'm interested in reading them. I would like to address the other users comments about the possible doom of this series. Dinotopia's doom will not be from the shows lack of success. It will be because the local stations have pigeonholed the program. Dinotopia in our area was repeatedly exempted for sporting events and Christmas specials.

I was glad to see the human story is as prominent as the Scifi/Fantasy element in this continuation of last season's miniseries. The cast has been replaced for the weekly series, apparently to good effect. I especially like Shiloh Strong as David, the more responsible of the two brothers. There's an unreal quality to the effects--though I don't know the degree to which it can be explained by my own knowledge of the processes involved or whether my senses are reacting to direct evidence. Special effects are both better and worse since they have come to depend so heavily on computer-generated images.If the creative forces behind the series have mapped their strategy carefully, this could become a classic; unfortunately, it has little chance to last beyond its maiden season. An effects-laden show like "Dinotopia" is much more expensive than a typical series, and it's highly unlikely to attract blockbuster ratings which would be necessary to justify the expense.