Dinosaur 13 (2014) - Todd Douglas Miller

Paleontologist Peter Larson and his team from the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research are always looking for their next big discovery.  In 1990, Peter Larson and his team made arguably the greatest dinosaur discovery in history; the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex ever discovered.    The discovery of a lifetime, Peter Larson and his team soon find themselves in a ten-year battle with the U.S. government over the rights to their discovery.  Todd Douglas Miller's Dinosaur 13 is more compelling than it has any right to be, delivering a fascinating and intricate look into the 10-year battle over T-Res "Sue".  From a technical standpoint, Dinosaur 13 is not the most impressive documentary, being made-up mostly of talking heads and stock footage.  What it excels at is capturing the battle of Academia/Research vs. Commercialism that exists in the Paleontology world.  The film feels like a thriller at times, showing Pater Larson and the Black Hills Institute being attacked at all angles from powerful museums, competing paleontologists, and the federal government not only over the T-Rex fossil but their freedom and personal rights as well.  That begins said, Dinosaur 13 really only looks at one perspective, eager to create a David vs. Goliath story that is compelling but ultimately biased, failing to answer many of the questions it raises.  

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