The IMAX dinosaurs are coming

By JEFF STRICKLER
Thursday, April 12, 2007

We've come a long way from "Jurassic Park," as the IMAX science film "Dinosaurs 3D"wastes no time in proving. By overlaying computer-generated three-dimensional dinosaurs onto footage of modern-day Patagonia, the filmmakers get us about as close as we'd ever want to be to these enormous _ and often cantankerous _ creatures.

Narrated by Donald Sutherland (referring to him as a dinosaur is way too cheap of a shot, but it's hard to resist, nonetheless), the movie follows Argentinean paleontologist Rodolfo Coria as he visits some of the sites in which he has gained worldwide fame by uncovering dinosaur fossils. As he speculates about the animals, the film morphs into a scientific best-guess scenario of what life was like for them.

Director Marc Fafard (who also made the "Vikings" IMAX movie) used Patagonia as his backdrop for two reasons: Its vast, rocky plains are the closest modern-day equivalent of the dinosaurs' environment. And some of the most amazing dinosaur remains have been discovered there, including the Giganotosaurus Carolinii, a predator that outdid the more famous T-Rex in both size and ferocity.

When its 6-foot-long jaws come slashing out over the audience via the movie's 3D technology, you can be forgiven if you instinctively duck.

"Dinosaurs 3D"

Three out of four stars

Not rated, but opens with a warning that some scenes might be too intense for younger children.