Dinocroc

There are some things I can never understand. Such as this movie. What if I were to create a really really cheap and crappy looking Dino and crocodile polygon model in Maya and then proceed to cut and paste that into an amateur video clip having people scream and getting eaten by the same thing? How can anyone even believe that an utterly fake CGI dinocroc that looks completely out of place, would influence the events in this movie? I know that its B-grade, low budget and all but the producers could do better than making a piece of crap that no one will ever seen see or sit through. It just does'nt make sense. Are people really so stupid that they would sit through this? Apparently so. For laughs? No, this thing isn't even worth laughing at.

If you are a fan of B movies, you have probably seen that Roger Corman's movies have become cheaper and tackier as the years have passed. So when I sat down to watch "Dinocroc", I thought this would look worse than even the last entries of his "Bloodfist" series. But the movie did surprise me to a degree. In this Corman movie, the sets, props, and the cinematography look much better than usual. As for the special effects (mostly CGI work), for a low budget movie they are impressive. While it's true that the dinocroc looks real bad when it's seen in full light, when seen underwater or in darkness it is an acceptable special effect. It's too bad, then, that the movie is mostly sunk by a poor script. We have dumb hunters, evil scientists who hardly make an appearance, and not enough scenes of the monster munching on people. Oh, and the way the monster is dispatched at the end of the movie is VERY unsatisfying. Still, with the knowledge that Corman has made MUCH worse movies, I know this movie could have been a lot worse than it is right now.

Roger Corman makes entertaining movies, and he's made several giant monster movies for the sci-fi channel. Out of them all, this follows his classic style the most, including not so good special effects.

The classic style that didn't work includes the monster not showing itself, lots of people shots that are just fillers, and slow story development.

The special effects croc is a joke. It has no believability to its character.

This is a cheesy movie what people expect from a borderline B movie. Since this was first in line of many of this type of movies to come, it may have had budget problems. In any case, the movie itself was successful, and spawned many different super beast movies. The later productions has much better quality.

I couldn't warm up to this movie, and this is not one of the best of super monster series that came from Roger Corman's production.

An unscrupulous genetic engineering firm, conducting cloning experiments with crocodiles as a means to resolve the world's impending food shortage accidentally releases a specimen into the woods surrounding a popular lake with predictable consequences. Executive produced by Roger Corman, you might have hoped for better than this limp wristed CGI-dependent cheapie that features some capable and familiar faces. The leads are so busy getting into each other's pants, that poor Michael (Jake Thomas) is left to search for his missing dog alone, ending up on the Dinocroc platter. A grieving brother (Borlenghi) then sets about taking revenge with the assistance of Aussie game-hunter doubling as an ichthyologist (Mandylor) and Corman veteran Charles Napier as the local sheriff.

Joanna Pacula's role as the firm's chief could have been a stroke of deft casting, but she receives so little air time, her role is reduced to a caricature of the stereotypical villain. But even more disappointing is the reliance on CGI animation and post-production effects to create the action sequences with the "Dinocroc". Much of the camp quality of the Corman-inspired monster movie was in the flimsy, plastic construction of the title beast. Some of the sequences on the lake (take the water skiing moment) would have been far more entertaining were it not for the clumsy computer animation.

Co-writer John Huckert does a misguided Peter Benchley inspired cameo as a journalist – now punters will know his face as well as his name, which could jeopardise future writing gigs once you witness the quality (or lack thereof) of this effort. Choral orchestral soundtrack layered over the attacking sequences give the beast an almost unholy reverence, but the CGI effects are out of sync and the result is anything but precision or grace. If there's any redemption at all, you might draw visual relief in the fresh-faced and feisty Jane Longenecker who in spite of her lower order billing, is the constant presence throughout (and much better looking than either Mandylor or the "dinocroc").

...In that this movie never seems to deliver exactly what it wants. I, personally, love cheap straight-to-video monster movies, but this one just doesn't satisfy enough. I was expecting Tobe Hooper's CROCODILE, but was left with the sequel. Overall, worth renting if you enjoy the genre.

1.5 (out of 5) Rated: "R" for some creature violence/gore, and language.

Summary: DinoCroc is what you get when you mix SNAKEHEAD TERROR and CROCODILE 2: DEATH SWAMP. Don't expect an oscar.