RIOTUS

Steven Spielberg is here to reclaim his dino-filmmaking title as executive producer of The Dinosaurs. The four-part docuseries sees him team up with Amblin Documentaries and the creatives behind Life on Our Planet to explore the rise and fall of the monstrous marvels that once walked the Earth. 

Narrated by Morgan Freeman, who lends his immense gravitas to the documentary, the sheer scale and raw instincts of the dinosaurs are on full display. Visually stunning, these prehistoric creatures immediately make each environment their own, although the flatness of the backgrounds makes the world feel a little more insular than expansive. The CGI is fairly impressive, even if you might chuckle to see dinos with feathers (something that has only recently become accepted as factually accurate, thanks to the early Jurassic Park films’ influence). 

You can see the Spielberg DNA running through this docuseries; each scene plays out as if acted for a camera rather than an observation of a natural environment. While cutting footage together to tell linear narratives is standard practise for nature documentaries—and obviously, one about extinct creatures cannot use real footage in the first place—The Dinosaurs feels scripted in a more fictional, cinematic way that echoes its predecessors Jurassic Park and even Jaws. The dinosaurs often pause for an effective close-up or appear at the most opportune moment for maximum drama, built in anticipation by a dynamic and often looming score. And that makes it a whole lotta fun.

The final episode of The Dinosaurs is where this documentary truly shines; it may be the first one I’ve seen that actually manages to convey the massive scale of destruction and devastation that the asteroid caused, and how its impact changed the world for millennia. It’s all at once awe-inspiring and chilling, showing its true cost and turning it into a personal touchstone that will stay with you long after the credits roll. And that alone makes it worth the watch; The Dinosaurs covers the scope of hundreds of millions of years with ease, yet still pulls at your emotions and love for these fascinating creatures from days long gone by.