Dinosaur 13
| Release Date: August 15, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
IndieWireEric KohnJan 16, 2014
Douglas Miller's Dinosaur 13 is both awe-inspiring and tragic. Conventionally made but featuring an undeniably compelling story at its core, Miller’s debut benefits greatly from the combination of passion and sadness embedded in its subjects’ tale. Read full review
80
Total FilmSimon KinnearDec 14, 2014
Mixing candid talking heads with scarcely believable video footage, Miller’s taut narrative shifts gears (black comedy, thriller, even a love story), but is mostly driven by outrage at the powers that be. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 14, 2014
It's just a good yarn, well told. So don't be deterred by the title (it sounds like a lame horror movie) or the description. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfAug 12, 2014
In its early scenes, Dinosaur 13 works nearly as well as a certain Steven Spielberg thriller, creating the giddy, ominous mood of past and present colliding in excitement. Read full review
80
EmpireKim NewmanAug 11, 2014
Like "The Cover" and "Man On Wire," this documentary comes clad in the garb of a thriller. And a heck of a good one at that. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis HarveyMay 19, 2014
[An] engrossing documentary. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 21, 2014
Sue wins out, and the film is worth seeing, if only for the reminder of how badly justice can miscarry if enough millions are spent by the U.S. government. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaAug 15, 2014
To reveal too many details of this “Law & Order” meets “Jurassic Park” procedural, especially what eventually happens to Sue, sort of dilutes the thriller aspect of the story. I suggest resisting the urge to Google if you plan to see the doc. I did and was glad to be in the dark. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayAug 14, 2014
In the taut, emotionally gripping documentary Dinosaur 13, filmmaker Todd Douglas Miller meticulously re-creates seven eventful, tense and finally heartbreaking years. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaAug 11, 2014
To some extent, the use of a wide aspect ratio and the doc's emphatic score takes its cues from paleontologist Pete Larson's passion. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJul 29, 2014
There are moments when you wonder if this CNN-produced documentary is telling the whole story, if there was cherry picking in points of view chosen. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 18, 2014
For all its stridency, Dinosaur 13 isn’t looking to mobilize us or get us to think hard about these issues. It just wants to tell its wild, one-of-a-kind tale in the most engaging way possible, and it does that exceptionally well. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 14, 2014
Dinosaur 13 may not be the best documentary, but as a scientific soap opera, it’s a doozy. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonAug 14, 2014
Guaranteed to fan antigovernment sentiments among its audiences, Dinosaur 13 is less about paleontology than it is about prosecutorial overreach, political gamesmanship, dinosaur swindlers and true crime — if in fact crimes were even committed, and/or committed by the people accused. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirAug 13, 2014
This is not one of those Eisenhower-Little Rock moments where you get to feel warm and fuzzy about the power of the state being on the right side of history. Read full review
70
The DissolveKeith PhippsAug 13, 2014
Dinosaur 13 is haunted by the nagging sense that only one side of the story is getting told. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMay 19, 2014
Engaging characters and the persistent appeal of dinosaurs benefit the doc, whose Byzantine legal content might otherwise be off-putting. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc MohanAug 15, 2014
The actions of both these vilified parties are so seemingly irrational that you're left feeling there must be some explanation, one that director Todd Douglas Miller either couldn't or wouldn't ferret out. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesBill StametsAug 14, 2014
Filmmaker Todd Douglas Miller unfortunately adopts the format of prime-time docu-tainment. Read full review
60
The GuardianMike McCahillSep 22, 2014
If it all feels too anomalous to seal its case against today's big legal and corporate predators, it never lacks for diverting turns and quirks. Read full review
60
CineVueEd FranklAug 14, 2014
For the most part, Dinosaur 13 is highly absorbing - some of the decisions that come against Larson are truly shocking - but it does lack in places as a piece of documentary journalism. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonAug 13, 2014
Using home-video footage and talking-head interviews, Dinosaur 13 dramatically depicts the thrill of archaeological discovery. But the overbearing soundtrack and shots of weeping palaeontologists do feel a touch manipulative. Read full review
60
Village VoiceRob StaegerAug 12, 2014
Unfortunately, Dinosaur 13 never manages to display the story's many complex parts in a way that enables viewers to grasp the whole beast. Read full review
50
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonAug 26, 2014
Miller's documentary skills seem solid enough, but this particular story needed more objectivity, and a lot more rigor, to be worth telling in this manner. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Aug 14, 2014
Dinosaur 13 reduces a complicated legal quagmire about paleontological ownership to something of a pity party. But hard luck is not the same as injustice. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanAug 14, 2014
Begins as a vibrant and uplifting tale about exploration and discovery, then quickly turns into a soul-crushing lament about bureaucracy and defeat. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandAug 15, 2014
Mostly, Dinosaur 13 is far too long, slogging along without momentum or suspense. These events would have been better handled in a single installment of Dateline. Read full review
More From This Movie

66 Critic Reviews

6.9 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL