Pterodactyl

Pterodactyl (2005)

Somewhere in Turkey an earthquake occurs and uncovers some dinosaur eggs. These eggs hatch and before you know it Pterodactyls are flying around eating the locals. We know this because early on we get to see some random hunters get shredded. Then we are introduced to a couple of different groups of characters. First up is a paleontologist (convenient isn’t’ it?) and his students on a research trip. The professor’s name is Lovecraft! If that weren’t enough fun there is also a group of soldiers lead by Capt. Bergen, who is played by Coolio… Yeah it is this kind of movie. They meet up and the rest of the movie is an ever-decreasing group of survivors trying to kill off the dinosaurs.

I’m a sucker for creature features and watch a lot of them. That means I end up sitting thru a few good ones and a quite a few bad ones. Pterodactyl falls into that category of not great, but harmless cheesy fun. To start off with the story is silly, but paced well. The kills are spread out evenly and the movie knows that it needs to get the Pterodactyls on screen early and often. Fans are going to be able to tell right away who is going to make it till the end and who isn’t, so don’t expect to be surprised. But there is enough dinosaur inspired mayhem there that it manages to be entertaining.

The characters are also pretty standard, but the actors that they have filling the roles are good enough to make them interesting. I mean no one is going to win any awards, but it is obvious the cast knew the kind of movie they were making and had a good time shooting it. I also have to say that having Coolio in the movie was a good choice. He might not be the greatest actor in the world, but he has charisma.

The special effects are a mix of CGI and some puppets. Some of the CGI is sort of bad, like the hunter getting torn in half. But then some of the shots of the Pterodactyls look pretty good. All of the puppetry is goofy looking, but has a certain charm to it. There are a couple practical gags involving some baby Pterodactyls and gut munching (always appreciated around here!) are kind of fun. Also another reason that the CGI doesn’t bug me is because they toss a surprising about of gore at the audience, so even if some of it is bad I can cut them some slack. Now understand that this isn’t a gore fest with limbs flying everywhere, but for what it is I was pleasantly surprised.

Like I’ve already said Pterodactyl is a harmless movie and a decent way to kill 90 minutes. If you are a fan of creature features or are just looking for a way to kill part of an afternoon I would recommend a rental.

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer