Dinotopia 1: The Outsiders (2002)

I only rented Dinotopia because I saw it at my local video store and noticed that Wentworth Miller was on the cover. Of course it looked stupid just from the box cover, but I'm a huge fan of Wentworth so I rented it.There are no words for how lame this movie is. The acting is horrible (yes, surprisingly even Wentworth Miller seemed awkward and spit his lines out WAY too fast). There is a storyline but the poor effects, bad acting, and ridiculous dialog take away any chance this film had of being watchable. Maybe the actors felt so stupid interacting with cheap looking animatronic dinosaurs that they just didn't even try to give any heart to their performance.Seriously, your plane crashes at sea nearly drowning you and killing your father and you don't seem in the least bothered by this? And then, you find yourself on an island where dinosaurs still exist and you only seem mildly surprised? Maybe a kid would enjoy this, but anyone over seven will just laugh.

As an avid Dinotopia fan, I was eagerly looking forward to the miniseries, but it didn't quite live up to expectations.The books are absolutely wonderful but Gurney didn't want to ruin peoples' preconceived notions about them, so a modern day storyline was created and the miniseries changed too much and made the society seem too rigid. In the books, there is no assigning of things, you choose your own path, maybe becoming an apprentice, maybe following in your parents' footsteps, maybe competing in the Dinosaur Olympics for a chance to choose, or something else. The sunstone towers are just message beacons; the carnivores stay in the basin of their own will. The hatcheries were way different too.I'd say it's worth watching but don't let it turn you off from the books as they're so much better.

Recently becoming a Wentworth Miller fan, I found myself drawn to his earlier works and came upon this charming miniseries. It's definitely worth a look. If your into seeing cutesy fantasy films, than this a movie for you. Not only was the acting, and choices for actors/actresses great, but the special effects were phenomenal. After a while I had to remind myself that the dinosaurs were actually fake, because it's easily forgotten. The story is entertaining and moves along nicely. Also, the music and storyline overall really gave it a truly classic and magical feel. It really was a treat to see. I'd recommend it, without question.

This miniseries had an interesting premise... But it didn't live up to the hype for one reason alone: The acting was terrible. ABC ran commercials nonstop proclaiming this to be a great success, then when it ran it was painful to watch. The script was full of cheesy lines that you would expect in a bad comic book, and there was almost no believable dialogue at all. The best example of bad acting in this series was the actor who played David. He was the worst in the series. it seemed as if all of the series' budget went into animation and then they hired soap opera actors. The animation was great and the landscapes were beautiful, but the series was just too painful to watch. I saw it twice so I know what I am talking about. I was left feeling very unfulfilled after this.