KINGDOM OF THE DINOSAURS (2022)

KINGDOM OF THE DINOSAURS (2022)

Tagline: Mess with nature and there are consequences.

(Action, Sci-Fi, There Are Dinosaurs In This Dinosaur Movie Right?) [R]

Note: This movie was not given an MPAA rating, but it would have been a [R] just due to the profanity alone.

The year is 2030 and of course, science morons made dinosaurs that have escaped the lab (due to a war breaking out) and have basically taken over the earth. At the onset of the takeover, certain individuals are told to go to a shelter to ensure the survival of mankind. A few years into things food is running low and about half the group decides it is time to go get whatever supplies they can. No one has any idea if it’s safe or not, because the organization that sent them there hasn’t told them if it’s safe to come out or not. Oh, just for the record. It’s not safe otherwise it wouldn’t be much of a movie. 

JAGGED EDGE is a few rungs below THE ASYLUM when it comes to casting and CGI. Most of the CGI is about on par with THE ASYLUM when they first came out or have about 1/3rd of their usual budget. JAGGED EDGE however isn’t completely inept. They do deliver “some” decent CGI at times and their storylines are always pretty interesting even if they don’t have the best execution in the world. So if you come into this expecting a fun low-budget flick with sub-par everything, you are going to get that. 

We have several cast members from CROC! and other JAGGED EDGE films in this, including Mark Haldor as Drew, Antonia Whillans as Mia, Kate Sandison as Sam, Chrissie Wunna as Leanne, Sarah Alexandra Marks as Sarah, and probably a few others I am missing. I will say that Haldor’s character in this is way cooler than his character in CROC!. Don’t get too attached to Sarah either. Antonia was also far better in CROC! as a side note. We do get some actors and actresses I haven’t seen before as well. Darcie Rose takes on the role of Carly Rae in this and does a pretty decent job for what it is. She is best known for SON OF GOD. Chelsea Greenwood plays Louise and is also pretty solid. She is playing a pregnant woman about ready to have a baby, so the emotional range she was asked to show in this was quite a bit more than anyone else.

One of the biggest issues with this movie isn’t that I am not rooting for the characters or anything like that, it has more to do with the fact that the only real storyline after the plot summary involves Louise having a baby. That is a big event even when the world isn’t overrun by dinosaurs, but it isn’t enough to show us character development or let us get to know anyone all that well. In fact, we are only very briefly introduced to Louise’s boyfriend, or husband or whatever is going on with them in this. Even just a few more sequences getting to know those two would have punched up the “okay, they had better “not die” factor. There are also probably just a bit too many nods to JURASSIC PARK in this, but it’s not the end of the world. I do wish at least one of the characters hadn’t died because this person dying was a big downer. 

What JAGGED EDGE and a lot of budget studios do well, is give us just enough to keep things interesting. We do get a few lulls, but this one kept my attention the whole way and even threw in a few gutsy sequences, one of which included Louise with a machine gun fighting back raptors while trying to deliver her baby. Yep, big major studios can suck it, all these decades of movies and not one soon-to-be mother with a machine gun lighting up dinosaurs while on the delivery table. 

Just for that scene alone, this one gets a 4 out of 7. Thanks, JAGGED, this thing made my night. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF JAGGED EDGE PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.