This cowboy and dinosaur movie is better than it's reputation. Though moving slowly in places, it is capably acted and has enough action and plot development to keep both me and my 7 year old son interested. (It did lose the 4 year old periodically)
My only addition to other's previous comments are that I do feel the film holds up fairly well considering it's age. The female lead is surprisingly liberated, being no-one's useless sex object. She manages to make independent decisions, shows that she is quite capable of taking care of herself, and does not panic in the face of danger. When the beast of the title appears she does not scream and panic or fall helplessly to the ground as so many 50's heroines would do, instead her reaction is one of realistic shock and brief fear, followed by quick and decisive action. She even manages to evade the monster for an extended period without tripping or twisting her ankle. during this whole movie she does not do anything stupid or anything contrived to serve as a plot device.
The hero is also fairly realistic. He is neither a chauvinist nor a stereotype. We see that while he is determined to fight for his own rights, he will concede and consider a course of action that will benefit those people he cares for. He is strong and confident without being overly macho, and he is intelligent and thoughtful.
I found the other characters were treated with respect, also. There is no odious comedy relief. Even the drunken father is handled with care and not a caricature. The little boy is likeable, not annoying as is often the case in this sort of vehicle.
I found the wedding festival, which annoyed one reviewer, to be colorful and entertaining. A welcome surprise in a movie of this type.
Finally, although we are forced to wait a long time for the appearance of our monster, and the first appearance is much too abrupt, once it appears it is almost never off the screen and is certainly entertaining. Nit pickers will of course have a field day with the effects. They are, after all, none too realistic. However, the effects do have a unique sort of charm.
The true nature of all of these effect sequences is clouded in rumour and innuendo. It is my understanding from various interviews and articles that when the producers bought the story outline from Willis O'Brien that they also purchased some test sequences which he had created. The rest of the scenes were then produced by the method described in other reviews whereas static sculptures in various positions were substituted frame by frame. If you watch closely it does seem that there may be more than one dinosaur which do not quite match each other, and a few scenes stand out in their fluidity. The running sequences mentioned by another reviewer are obviously much smoother of motion than most of the jerkier scenes. Of course the big rubber-boot feet are obvious.
As for the tongue. Both of my kids loved it! Kids know fun when they see it!
