Dinosaurs: The Final Day with David Attenborough: a review

So on April 16, I watched a feature-length (87 minutes!) dinosaur documentary hosted by the legendary David Attenborough. No, its not the upcoming Prehistoric Planet, as it hasn't come out yet. Rather, it's Dinosaurs: The Final Day, about the extinction of the dinosaurs via an asteroid impact, and studies of the North Dakota fossil site Tanis, which actually preserves a very close time right up to the asteroid impact. Now I admit the extinction of the dinosaurs never really interests me and I usually prefer to skip it when it comes up, out a mixture of just being talked about too much and being to tear-inducing for me, instead preferring what celebrates their success and diversity, birds included. I presumed it would be like the previous palaeo-docs David has been in, with mostly talking heads with a few short CG reconstruction sequences here and there, but nothing much to it, and would viewed as minor compared to Discovery Channel's Last Day of the Dinosaurs (which is pretty decent documentary).

Here's a link to watch for yourself (Warning: Not official release. Watch at own risk)

But when I did watch it?

I loved it so fricking much. I don't know how to write the words to properly convey how good it is, but believe me it is excellent.

As usual, David Attenborough is great host and narrator, bringing the necessary gravitas to such a heavy subject. He's also not remiss to mention how avian dinosaurs still survived the extinction and we are making the sixth big one (always a goof thing to mention, especially on Earth Day when I posted this). There's also a few segments where David is actually in the Cretaceous, even at one point interacting with a little mammal that appears throughout the film (don't remember the exact genus if it was even mentioned) as it scurries around.

The excavation scenes and those with the fossils are pretty fun to watch as well. Plenty of unique dinosaur specimens are found, most notably specimens of well-preserved skin, in particular an entire leg of a Thescelosaurus (AKA that small ornithopod of the time and place no one cares about) that looks as if its only a few years. However, its with the non-dinosaurs that really shine: we have a baby pterosaur egg and pterosaur tracks, fish tangled in tree roots, mammal burrows, and even a skewered turtle on a branch. Major props to Robert DePalma (controversial as he is for hoarding fossils) for finding it much of it and doing much sience communication to help spread the word of it. It also was the first time I learnt its common to pour liquid nitrogen in archaeology to extract specimens.

(Although now would be a good time to point out that the site's date is still not confirmed as of this writing, and that none of the findings here are officially described.)

The show wastes no time in explaining how all the fossils provide evidence for being proof of being right in the middle of the K-Pg impact. For instance, the leg and its fine preservation is used as proof, while the fish have dirt spheroids in their gills that were formed by the impact's debris being thrown down, which are then used determine the age of the site. There's even a bit where they use the 2011 Japan Earthquake causing water in Norway's fjords to go wonky as a way top demonstrate how tidal waves could be caused by the asteroid impact and reach where North Dakota is now.

But then you have the CG reconstruction scenes. Holy moley, there so damn good! Helps they're all long enough to really make a lasting impression. Just look at the screengrab below.

The visual effects and cinematography for are top notch. The Hell Creek Formation is vividly rendered as a lush forest, the animals are highly detailed ans shot as majestic as can be, and the extinction scenes are ghastly and apocalyptic, like with shots from space of the impact waves travelling up the Western Interior Sea that really haunt you. There's also sequence where the tidal waves pick up a mosasaur that again, is also haunting, really giving you a sense of the power the asteroid impact had.

The behaviour of the prehistoric life depicted is very good and nuanced. While there are few fights and chases here and there, its generally subdued, focusing more on things like laying and tending for eggs. In one particular tidbit I like, the small ornithopod Thescelosaurus is presented swimming into rivers to escape a predator, much as many animals today do, which helps make a creature otherwise viewed as boring compared to stand out, and how the swimming part is used to explain the fine preservation of the leg.

On a side note, the fact that the T. rex in it is shown caring for its eggs got the ire of British tabloid The Sun and said... eh, why don't I just show it?

*Rolls eyes so hard they turn into perpetual motion machine*

Anyways...

The flow of the movie is well-done. The first half is dedicated to exploring the Hell Creek Formation  and its beauty, only making the inevitable extinction all the more tragic as it unfolds instantly in the second half. Its all intercut with the fossil excavation as each new find is uncovered.

The designs of the prehistoric life are all very good. My favourite would have to be the azhdarchid pterosaurs, who have the requisite pycnofibers coloured a lovely shade of and nails the giant stork-like feel they also bear to many, and as pictured above the babies are real cute. The Thescelosaurus is also nice.

The music is also pretty good, helping enhance the emotional atmosphere of it all, both the spectacle, the horror, the sadness, and the triumphant return of life on earth.

There are only a handful of things I don't like about it. The t. rex as pictured above feels a bit too much like Jurassic Park's only with lips and a scattering of feathers on top, and one time it abandons a big juicy triceratops carcass in favour of chasing after a Thescelosaurus just so we can see it swim. The sexual dimorphism on the azharchids with only the males having crests, while unique, does seem a bit suspect as such a thing isn't known in the clade so far.

• Accuracy - 9/10
• Aging - 8/10
• Presentation - 10/10
• Visuals - 9/10
• Music - 8/10
• Rewatchability - 8/10

Definitely one my favourite shots in the docufilm, so I'll end this review on it

Overall, Dinosaurs: The Final Day is perhaps one of if not the best dinosaur documentary in recent years, with both compelling and epic presentation, amazing finds, and excellent effects. I'd be remiss to to not mention the upcoming Prehistoric Planet, since given it shares a similar timeframe as it, it's gonna have quite a bit to live up to or even exceed The Final Day (which hasn't be too hard).

Oh, and its way better then Last Day of the Dinosaurs, if your wondering.

Let me know if I got anything wrong here. Bye for now!

Further Reading

• Barras, Colin. (23 February 2022). Fossil fish reveal timing of asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. Nature.