Extinction (2014)

Instant Favorite.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

From my favorite movies..

Blistering performances.

After seeing some not too kind reviews I thought I'd give this a try as it was on Sky Movies. Firstly it seems a lot of people here don't know what the definition of FOUND FOOTAGE films is. Just because it is filmed partially on a video-camera from a first person perspective does not mean it falls in that genre. Found footage would be when some undiscovered reels of film are found and the film adventure is set off thereupon. OK?? Anyway although probably 10 minutes too long and with some irritating characters (principally Tim) I have to say I was fairly impressed with the dinosaurs themselves (don't expect T-Rexes) which were a step up from the usual guff offered by Crocosaurus and the like. There are also some poor emissions from the scenes (someone gets killed - we neither see it nor see them getting attacked which is then described by someone else - big cop-out). This obviously was made on a budget but there were a few good Dino moments, such as when a Dino nose nudges Tim. But it does take a heck of a long time to finally see them, nearly an hour in. A few bad bits of dialogue and acting, but on the whole not worth the slating it's got on here.

Most people seeing the trailer & reading the blurb will think you are getting an exciting action film involving dinosaurs or even one which is tense. Unfortunately, what you get is a film dressed up as a documentary. This wouldn't be bad in itself if it wasn't so poorly made, was tense, or even atmospheric. Instead you get a silly plot in which some party seems to go a few miles into the wilderness, amazon, & finds creatures from the Jurassic age. Of course you would.On top of this you have a cameraman who is obviously drunk & has the shakes, as the camera moves all over the place & keeps going out. The only time it is steady, is when it zooms in on the leading lady's breasts, which it does throughout the movie. In fact all the male characters seem to zoom in on them. The cameraman in the film is just as bad, irritating throughout, & you are constantly praying if someone is going to get it, it will be him. The rest of the actors are not much better, with the sole exception being the chest of the skinny broad, which seems to be the centre of attention.If you want to watch something with no tension or atmosphere throughout, then this is for you, otherwise avoid.

The success of a film like this depends as much on your expectations as the film. Being a monster born of the Blair Witch Project so long ago, 1999. you know it will have long stretches of nothing happening, and you will be lucky to see much of the monster, but should have realism beyond any 'fiction' film to compensate. And this one has the advantage the monsters were real, a long time ago....in a world where we live. In this film it would be inexcusable not to show the title monster. But I also had fairly high expectations, along with a willingness to go along for the ride.The best feature was the high realism throughout of the characters and what happened, allowing for believability and actual tension, as well as the inevitable tedium.Real tension and fear is created with sounds. So, given this documentary-type film's realism, anticipation of the dinosaurs in this was different than any Jurassic Park. It was increased, because it was more real. So I anticipated that when the first dino appeared the reality would go bye bye. And though it threatened to at first, I employed my motto I just made up now - forgiveness is its own reward - and the later encounters easily verged on utterly believable. Maybe my expectations included I really wanted to believe it. Plus the fact I kind of like Raptor Island and the recent dino movies of CGI dinos, for the fun of it, and even the mid-90's Carnosaurus trilogy. Yes, I wanted my belief to have the gravity of a real dinosaur, while my suspension of disbelief was lifted.Even better for me was that it took me a long time to figure out how it was done. Maybe my desire to believe got the better of me. Like this sub-genre of found footage should be: The maxim of maximum potential in most limitations. Was this CGI? It looked so solid. Was this a stroke of genius? But later, two lines lifted from Jurassic Park disappointed me and took me out of this movie. Until I realised the filmmaker was not just taking; he was adding. He knew what he doing I think, because of the new contexts, or outcomes, he put them in. So he gave a couple of nods to the original best, while looking at it - in the other direction.Unlike the other E film, or Ex film - Exists, a FFF about BigFoot - these creatures were done largely in the day, I'm thankful for. The filmmakers mostly took care to maximise them being believable. Likewise, the peoples' realism and fear was maintained, but also increased. Right til after the end and even beyond it. I for one would like to see the sequel!On a final note, though this film, like all the others, did not fulfil the holy grave, err grail, of a dino actually eating a person how it would be, that Jurassic Disney Park should have done first, it may have come the closest a couple of times.

Was expecting a little more - but the high-school dinosaur effects killed it. Sorry - never going to get a big thumbs-up from me. (Plus the "lost footage" camera thing has been very over used...) Turned it off after just over an hour. Luckily my wine was nice... The acting was okay. The sound effects were good. The tension of the "animals" coming into the movie wasn't too bad. The eventual arrival of "a dinosaur" was absolutely terrible. Hopefully the actors have other projects. My room mate didn't come downstairs to watch it, and thankfully so... If you thought this would be an awesome scary horror dinosaur flick then don't bother. Very disappointed. Why don't I have Fox Sports...?