El último dinosaurio

Well, I haven't seen this since it was originally aired in '77...so my comments are based on something I saw 23 years ago. But I remember, and my brothers remember, it was pretty good. And the rock-bouncing-off-T-Rex's-head thing that is mentioned-that was Cool! We liked that! Ditto the being drug down the hill by the boulder scene. This was fast paced, tongue in cheek, exciting-we enjoyed it.

What can I say? Maybe its terrible, maybe it's bad Godzilla/Gammera level-I donno. But at the time, we had a blast.

So-a 1977 rec. here....

**1/2 outta ****

This movie is kind of good. It seem that they used the Tyrannosaurus Rex like a blown up balloon, just like Godzilla, just maybe back in those 60-70's days, scientist haven't got enough info. on all sorts of dinosaurs. Back in those time scientist still making dinosaur, so I guess this movie was base on a Tyrannosaurus Rex movements back in the 60-70's. There even a part where a giant rock, fired by someone at the Tyrannosaurus Rex, it damage the Tyrannosaurus Rex and it was knock out for a little while. At the end, the Tyrannosaurus Rex went back to search for food. There is something wrong in the movie as well, like a rifle, how can one rifle kill a Tyrannosaurus Rex, when it could be 1,000-5,000 stronger than we are. If this film going to make a remake, I suggest make it more good and excited, because watching a old movie seems like to have a remake of it, if lucky.

Stupidly beautiful. This movie epitomizes the 'so bad it's good' genre of films.

The only two talents in it are Richard Boone and Joan van Ark, and only Boone is any good. It's kind of sad that the man who rose to fame as Paladin should wind up in this ugly pile of celluloid. While he turns in a fantastic performance, I couldn't help but feel that he so outclassed all his fellow actors in this piece that he shouldn't even have been there.

The effects in this film are laughable, but fun. The idea of a dinosaur being buried in the wall of a cave and suddenly coming to life is B-movie gold. When the 'triceratops' gets killed, watch how it falls. It's clear that the stunt performer in the FRONT of the costume knows the timing best. He falls to the ground, well before the back half of the dinosaur follows suit.

Speaking of 'suits', there is nothing good to say about the purple tyrannosaur, in this flick. It seems to have some kind of stealth technology, since Bunta (reputed to be the best tracker in the world) twice fails to notice it until it's within biting range of him. I don't know how all the prints are, but in the version I own, the Tyranno's roar contains Godzilla's trademark bellow.

This is loads of fun, to watch, if you like bad movies. I love them, and especially bad monster movies, so I consider this the gem of my collection. If bad movies are your thing, definitely get this one.

"The Last Dinosaur", the title for a particular late-70s science-fiction flick which was apparently (I'm guessing by a few details in the credits and in the film) a cooperation of American and Japanese film companies. This film was obviously made on an incredibly low budget, which you can judge by many aspects of it shown on the screen. "The Last Dinosaur" is preposterous, has campy effects, redone sound effects that still retain aspects of their original versions, and with the exception of Richard Boone, completely wooden acting. It is a mindless film, and yet, somehow, there is something classic and enjoyable about it. It's a film that cannot be forgotten by those who have seen it. And whether they loved it or hated it, they remember it for being so cheap. Why is it enjoyable, then? I myself don't really know the answer. There's just some things about some films like this that somehow in some way work out.

The title of the film isn't completely accurate, according to the storyline. The so called "last dinosaur" of the film is a humanoid tyrannosaurus rex who sounds uncannily like Godzilla, and is portrayed by a man in a rubber suit. But we see lots of other creatures on screen. We see pterosaurs (which technically aren't dinosaurs, but are still prehistoric creatures), a giant reptilian mistaken to be a ceratopsian. And then we see an actual ceratopsian, a triceratops. So evidently, this T-rex is not alone in his prehistoric world.

The special effects on the film are simply laughable. We are humored by the dinosaurs more than we are frightened by them. There are several instances when the rubber heads of the creature get pushed in and then bounce back out into perfect form again, totally impossible in real life, considering that heads are made of skulls. There is a point in the film when a triceratops falls over onto its side and although we were more than obvious to the fact that it was made by two men in a heavy suit, standing one behind the other, it becomes more obvious in the mentioned scene. First, the guy in the front falls, yet the second guy apparently wasn't timing himself, for the back legs were still standing for a while before they finally realized they had to fall over too.

Casting and acting was wooden, not counting Richard Boone, who was popular as a cinema villain. Here, he is kind of an anti-hero. A womanizer, hunter, tough guy. Yet, even Boone doesn't really save the cast. It's not his acting that was the problem, it was the lines he was given to say. "That's not an alligator, it's a crocodile, and yet I shot it too.", "You ding-dong!", "a great scientific mind was killed by a beast with a brain the size of a dried pea!", and so on and so forth. The other actors were simply horrible at their jobs, maybe excepting the dark-skinned actor who didn't have any dialogue to say. But those people dressed up as a cavemen were perhaps the most hilarious part of the film. Not only being totally unnecessary, but not unexpected plot points, they made me laugh as I watched them walk slowly, swaying their arms from side to side with their mouths hanging open. A lot of characters were also totally unintelligent. Such as a press conference scene, where reporters did not ask enough questions. No logical questions. They didn't even ridicule the idea of a live dinosaur, as they do in most sci-fi flicks.

While "The Last Dinosaur" is totally ludicrous and lacking in intelligence, it is somehow entertaining. Once again, I'll state that I don't know why I enjoyed it. Maybe I just like old cheap monster movies. This is cheaper than any of the old late-60s and 70s Godzilla films in all regards. But whatever, the case, "The Last Dinosaur" was an okay 70s monster movie. It will meet people halfway in terms of their outlooks upon the film. But everybody will describe it as cheap.

Richard Boone plays billionaire Masten Thrust, an oil tycoon and big game hunter who leads a scientific expedition to explore a lost land in a dormant volcano under the polar ice cap. Joining him are scientists played by Joan Van Ark and Steven Keats, as well as a renowned Japanese scientist who doesn't last very long...seems that a T-Rex is out to get them, and it will prove to be the biggest challenge of Thrust's career.

Reasonably entertaining yarn is fun for kids, but also has themes of obsession and tragedy that will appeal to adults. Sure, compared to the "Jurassic Park" films the F/X here are primitive, but at the time, were impressive, and hold up OK. Not especially original, but does have a fitting end. On DVD from Warner Archive collection.