User reviews

It was 1 a.m. in the morning and I had nothing else to do. Don't judge me... please.

We're back in time during the Spanish settlements. A group have made their way onto an island. It doesn't take too long before they encounter a large "reptile", which gobbles up their horse. Soon they're captured by the natives and in order to gain freedom they must kill the "reptile gods." THE CG sucks; it reminds me of the CG of early console video games. The encounters were lame. The only positive thing I have to say about this was the hottie native running around in a skimpy outfit. Otherwise it's just a middling effort.

This movie threw me at first in the way it's put together.

First I thought it is a Mexican movie, then I find out that it's Sy-Fy original. I thought it was filmed in Mexico, then I find that it's filmed in Oahu Hawaii (The same ranch where they filmed the "Wind Talker"). I thought the girl was Maxican, and I find that she's Tibetian-Australian. One thing I was right was that the guy looked Hawaiian, and he was.

The reason why I thought the movie was Mexican was that it was about the level of quality of average Mexican movie. It is kind of bad even for a Sy-Fy channel special. What I like about the film is that it's shot quite beautifully. And the actors are actually pretty good looking.

So despite the low budget feel, it only reinforces the fact that these actors are actually worth looking at. The girl looked like Pocahauntus for real.

Everyone says this movie is bad, but for a movie that's supposed to bad, it's sure getting lot of views. So somebody must be liking it.

I thought it was a great idea to combine T-Rex with the Aztecs and the conquistadors.

I was never bored while watching this movie, although it was shockingly low quality in production. I can't say that for many of the more higher quality production movies, so at least the script was acceptable in this movie.

Considering that Japanese anime studios routinely outputs a high quality program at about this budget range, I'm not sure if 2.5M for this movie is justified, but it was an interesting movie to watch in many different ways.

I'll bet none of you knew that the famous Conquistador Hernando Cortes made a preliminary scouting expedition to Mexico before taking on the Aztecs. Good thing he did because he would never have known about those T Rexs that inhabited one particular valley where the locals revered them as gods.

That was understandable. What wasn't was the casting of blue eyed Ian Ziering as Cortes. Even with the blond hair made famous in Beverly Hills 90210 dyed black, Ian looked positively ridiculous. At least he made no attempt at a Spanish accent.

The real hero of Tyrannosaurus Azteca is Marco Sanchez also late of a television series with a semi-recurring role in Walker Texas Ranger as Detective Sandoval of the Dallas PD. He finds true love with an Aztec princess and life would be just perfect if it wasn't for those pesky prehistoric beasts the natives worship.

Tyrannosaurus Azteca looks like they used some outtakes from the famous Sid&Marty Krofft series the Land of the Lost. All that was needed was some Sleestak to appear.

If you're interested in finding out about this reconnoitering expedition that didn't quite make the history books by all means check out Tyrannosaurus Azteca. Then try and sit through it with a straight face.

I was intrigued by the concept and did think that Tyranosaurus Azteca had a lot of good ideas going for it. The camera work and scenery are quite nice, the acting from Dichen Lachman is decent and there are some acceptable enough gore effects. So what spoilt Tyranosaurus Azteca? The dinosaur effects for one, I've seen worse with Warbirds and the (insert name) vs (insert name) movies, but on the whole they do look cheap and sometimes off-scale. In terms of how they are used, they are nowhere near tough enough, little is done to make them at least interesting with little attempt to explain their origins, and they die all too easily. Despite the gore, the death scenes are lame, with no real suspense or sense of terror, not to mention hilariously-over-the-top in some. The story is rather unsurprising with too much of a silly tone and never really that exciting(though I can definitely think of much duller SyFy movies), the characters are on the clichéd side of things with little done to make us identify with them, the Shamon character ends up annoying rather than antagonistic and the rest of the acting with Lichman aside is either bland(Marco Sanchez or too broad(Ian Zierling). All in all, not terrible but I didn't find much to be enthused about. 4/10 Bethany Cox

To be fair they did as well as they could with a budget of five shillings and sixpence, but the dialogue was more cheesy than 9lbs of emmental and the CGI was a little old hat now. maybe if some of the actors were not so perfectly chiselled out of granite it would have made the film a little better too.. To say this was awful is to do this film a mis-service, if you want to see something that is totally execrable, you gotta sit and waste a couple of hours of your life watching 'sickle', that is soo mind numbingly awful, its actually good,(several large alcoholic beverages are deriguer though. Any road up, I enjoyed this film and its gotta be worth a look if you have not seen it yet, just don't expect anything along the lines of 'jurassic park,the lost world' or 'apocalypto'.

With nothing better to do I decided to check out "Aztec Rex" (as it was being billed) for the hell of it.

The silly story might have played better if the dinosaur effects were convincing. They actually looked like animatics (those rough designs that artists later use to finish the CGI effects, adding more details, smoother movements, etc.) Absolutely awful-looking dinosaurs, which is the only reason you'd probably want to sit through this anyway.

The one redeeming factor was the lovely Dichen Lachman as Ayacoatl. She kept my interest; if only the budget had been ramped up and some convincing dinosaurs could have been used.

Disappointing. At least the cast and crew got a free trip to Hawaii, where the movie was filmed.

A very clever movie, using the old style movie plot, that the writer and director team very subtly, and very craftily, made their point.

The movie is an old style Science Fiction adventure. Cortez leads six men on an expedition into the Aztec world. Cortez is a good choice, because he is known as one of the less ruthless, but still successful conquistadors. He certainly had more civility than Pizarro.

Along the way, they meet a tribe, and two T Rexes. They are out for conquest, so they decide they will conquer the tribe instead of the T Rexes.

But the tribe gets the better of them, and a priest intervenes on their behalf. It isn't unusual for a Spaniard to be stranded or shipwrecked near a coastal community, and such was the case for this priest, who was deemed interesting enough by the tribe to take in, and he taught them the language of Cortez.

The characters are very real and identifiable. You genuinely care about them. It is well written and directed. The T Rexes lumber, as some scientists still believe. It is only recently that some scientists claim that rexes were speedy, but these are scientists just trying to get their names into print. Good Science dictates that it takes an incredible amount of energy to give speed to that weight. It's like trying to motor a two ton truck as opposed to a motorcycle. The lumbering T Rex still makes more sense.

The characters are well done. Cortez is much like the leader of the treasure seekers in "The Jungle Book", the one with Sabu in it. He is a decent man, who cares about other people, and has humanity, but still wants the treasure. The priest is a very three dimensional character. The romantic two leads are also believable, especially for the times, since they have never seen movies, and don't know what a modern character is supposed to be like. They behave much as you would find credible for the times.

But the chief point of the movie is that it attacks all other horror and Science Fiction movies in a very subtle way. It comes with the idea in the title I gave this, and I wouldn't want to spoil it. Nearly all horror and Science Fiction movies made in the last forty years indicate that some characters are "divinely" above any physical weakness, and that if you're evil enough, you cannot become weak. This movie cleverly attacks that notion.

I LOVE these Sci-Fi Channel movies. But usually when I say they are "good", what I mean is that they were bad, but in an entertaining way. But this, this turned my whole world upside down. It was actually... almost... sort of... gosh, kind of good (and I don't mean 'bad' this time).

Well first, let me get this out of the way - I think it is only fair to rate a movie independently of what it is about - if someone wants to make a movie about googly eyed pet rocks, you should then rate it based on how well they accomplished what they set out to do - not give it a 1 just because it's about googly eyed pet rocks. So in that light, realize that yes, this is about Spanish explorers meeting Aztecs who worship a dinosaur who has apparently survived for millions of years in their valley. But no, it doesn't deserve a bad rating just because of the ridiculous plot.

So with that said, the movie easily deserves an 8 because of its pretty decent special effects, pretty decent acting, pretty decent story, and highly entertaining result. The key for the viewer is being able to get past the silly premise - if you can do that, I guarantee you will enjoy yourself.

I was prepared to hate AZTEC REX. Stupid title, stupid plot, completely unbelievable. Charitably called a B-movie, this is one of the many schlocky pictures released via the Sci-Fi Channel in America. Others have been absolutely god-awful, so why shouldn't this one be? From the beginning, things don't look good. The T-Rex is inevitably brought to life with some pretty diabolical CGI effects that make the BBC's WALKING WITH DINOSAURS look like an authentic nature documentary. The acting is wooden – there's no point trying to deny it. When the highlight is an ex-NEIGHBOURS actress wandering around in a bikini for the film's duration, you know you're in trouble. With a bunch of ex-TV actors and actresses attempting to convincingly portray Aztec warriors and Spanish Conquistadors, there's not really much hope, even from the start. The low budget and cheap look dooms this one from the outset.

But – wait a second. This film has something that most B-grade flicks don't: it has a sense of humour. And hey, it's actually quite entertaining to watch, albeit in a so-bad-it's-good way. Sure, it's a cheesy combination of at least three movies: JURASSIC PARK, APOCALYPTO and KING KONG, but somehow, the combination works. Instead of making us wait an age for the monster to appear, as in the old monster flicks, this one introduces us to the T-Rex from the start as he chews a guy's leg off. That's something else: the surprisingly graphic blood 'n' guts effects. They come thick and plentiful, with actors losing limbs, intestines and spraying arterial blood across the screen. The thing about the gore is that it isn't repulsive as in something like HOSTEL. Instead, it's colourful and amusing and left me looking forward to the next poorly animated death.

In the end, AZTEC REX is a success. I loved it, a lot more than many A-list Hollywood blockbusters. I was enthralled, I had a laugh, I had a really good time. And I can rest the success of this delightful movie on one man's shoulders alone: director Brian Trenchard-Smith. This man has been making B-movies for over thirty years and shows no signs of slowing down. He was responsible for TURKEY SHOOT, one of my all time favourite 'nasties', as well as the fun crime flick DAY OF THE ASSASSIN. Trenchard-Smith knows his genre inside out and I think he's a man who you can guarantee will give you a fun time. Leave your expectations at the door and give AZTEC REX a chance!

So, the concept of natives of latin america venerating a T rex like a God is pretty interesting, but this movie didn't execute it the right way. The biggest problem: the CGI effects. I know CGI was a great revolution for movies when it was used in Spielberg's Masterpiece Jurassic Park, but if it's not used the right way, it could ruin the movie, like what happened in this one.

One of my tips is: if you have no money to a good CGI like Jurassic Park, try to make it the old way, you could try to use Stop Motion, like King Kong's first film, or a man in a dinosaur costume, like Godzilla.

But back to the movie, the script is not that bad, the acting is great, the main problem is the CGI.

Now I remember learning all about Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus, but I don't recall hearing of this Cortés encounter with dinosaurs. Whilst exploring the new world, he and his crew land amongst the Aztecs and soon some of them fall foul of the local tribe armed with sticks and colourful clubs. These folks are determined to put a stop to the encroachments and so they are going to offer their new captives to their local deities - a pair of voracious T-Rex. Now aside from the fact that the dialogue is shockingly poor and the visual effects not much better, the question has to be asked. Who wanted this film? It's not in the least scary, it's way too long and the ridiculous love triangle element with Cortés (Ian Ziering), "Ayacoatl" (Dichen Lachman) and her betrothed shaman "Xocozin" (Kalani Queypo) is just childishly annoying. Is it supposed to be a comedy? The cannon ball bouncing off the beastie's hide did make me smile! It's college stuff that might just have merited a very early morning slot on the Horror channel. You will tire of it quickly, I reckon, and start rooting for T and his dinner.

Sometimes you just want to watch a dubious SyFy movie about a tyrannosaur in an unlikely setting. And sometimes the very first appearance of the computer-generated lizard makes you regret your decision. It's not that I had high expectations at any point, but I thought there was potential in the concept. Instead - despite my commitment to watching - by the time only ten minutes had passed I had all but given up hope. 'Aztec Rex,' also known as 'Tyrannosaurus Azteca,' is dull, boring, cliched, and altogether questionable.

The costume design, makeup work, and set design are okay. The filming locations are gorgeous. Unfortunately, that's the closest I can come to offering praise, and otherwise the picture can be best described as specious and flimsy. With little variation, the conquistadors are unquestionably the villains of the story, as they are in real-life history, and this is cemented by imperialist musings and racism. The writing also reflects racist overtones in how the Aztecs are written, to say nothing of the direly weak excuse given for how the Spaniards and the indigenous people can understand each other. The dialogue, narrative, and scene writing are hackneyed and tedious, flagging and dragging from the very start as they contribute to meager pacing - and are almost entirely defined by tropes. This is true not least of all in regards to supporting character Ayacoatl, who as the only woman to appear on-screen with meaningful storytelling substance is obligated to embody every archetype of female characters, no matter how contrived.

Everyone in the cast does the best they can with the material they're given, but considering how appallingly thin and empty the writing is, their best can scarcely begin to make a difference. This particularly goes for Dichen Lachman as Ayacoatl - she tries to infuse her role with earnest nuance and personality, but more than anything else I feel sorry for her as she's stuck in this production, and her effort broadly comes across as overacting just as much as some of her costars (if in a different way). As wholly unbelievable as the CGI tyrannosaur appears, and the violence associated with it, the costume design that already barely passes muster sometimes weirdly bears the appearance of itself being created with green-screen effects. Speaking of effects, the most basic tangible blood or gore we see looks good, but the more grand it is, the less convincing it becomes. Meanwhile, Brian Trenchard-Smith's direction, and the fundamental orchestration and execution of most scenes, mostly feels pointedly stilted, halfhearted, and lacking.

It's very possible to enjoy movies like 'Aztec Rex.' Sometimes they're duly sincere with sufficient hard work put into them that, if imperfect, means they're very entertaining. At other times, whether intentionally over the top or accidentally flailing, such titles can be fun because they come across as (bad) B-movies. In this instance, however, the concatenation of every flaw and shortcoming is so overwhelming that the picture is robbed of almost all possible value. I won't say that it's entirely bereft - the climax is actually pretty well done - but the end result here is so desperate and trying as a viewing experience that it can surely be recommendable only for the profoundly curious or the immensely bored. 'Aztec Rex' certainly isn't the worst of all possible movies, and I wish I could say that I like it more than I do, but it's close enough that I'm forced to second-guess my choices in life.

Aztec women were no that scantily clad; they wore a sleeveless blouse and knee length skirts, not the scanty loincloths and halter tops shown in the movie, Aztec men usually wore a cloak or cape in addition to the loincloth. They got the sandals wrong too.. Aztec sandals had a closed heel counter--what we would call ankle wrap sandals.

I saw the premier of this movie and i must say that it was very good, but some parts were very misleading The main part was i thought that Cortes was going to be the main character, not Rios Acting was good, i loved the tropical sense that the movie brought, i enjoyed it I could'nt wait to see the movie, I'm not disappointed, but the main character thing was stupid, that is the only flaw in the movie in my mind.

The scene taht really bugged me was when the soldier was sleeping and the rex ate his leg, no would'nt you feel some pain if a big rex took a bite out of your leg?

I give this movie a 8 out of 10

Arriving in Mexico in 1521, a group of Spanish conquistadors are captured by the Aztec natives and offered their freedom in exchange to kill a giant dinosaur plaguing their community and try to hunt it down in order to finally leave.

This was a rather fun and enjoyable creature feature. Among the better factors here is the fact that it plays with history, since there's an actual amount of history attempted here. It plays enough with it to feel true to what happened while also incorporating enough of actual history, namely the inclusion of Cortez, the Spaniard conquest of Aztec-led Mexico and much more here that come from actual history give it enough to be rather new and unique. The inclusion of the dinosaur in that story is great, as it allows for a readily available amount of suspense into an action film, and the fact that it remains a part of the story for a while is what really helps this since the beginning is about the exploration of the culture, then about the dinosaur for the rest of the film with limited interruptions. That also means that the creature is perceived as a threat, and really plays up to that nicely, with many encounters with the creature to generate action and excitement. The first encounter in the jungle, the battle with it deep in the ravine and the assault in the surf on the beach are really great and full of action coupled with some fantastic encounters to further the human storyline and this one gets interesting all the time. This continuous amount of action also comes with what is the last plus here as all the encounters between the two stories leads to some great kills, and the blood and gore in here doesn't disappoint, as this one here has some really nice points to it while there wasn't a whole lot of flaws. The biggest issue here is the same one that is customary in these films, the CGI on display is just atrocious and never once looks anything close to realistic. Besides it looking incredibly phony, there are also times where it's out-of-scale to the environment and there's a sense that it is never there interacting amongst the group. The scenes of it stalking the soldiers through the jungle are fine, but by making the several scenes of it really out-of-scale, there's no way around how fake it was. That also applies to the gore, which is never realistic either and is plainly obvious as well. The other flaw in this is that there's nothing on the dinosaur's origins. It's mentioned that there was a family that had died out, leaving the ones here as the last survivors, but nothing is mentioned about how they stayed alive to begin with. Even a hokey legend about them would've worked here, which would've been fine over what's given here as nothing is definitely not appreciated. Otherwise, these here are the film's flaws.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language and Brief Nudity.

this movie is an entertaining movie the gore is good and and the CGI is okay the plot is weird. the acting is okay but some of the characters are dumb they use cross bows against a dinosaur. the Spanish the Aztec's speak is somewhat fake. this is the only TV movie have given a high rating to. this movie is like some sci-fi movies like frankenfish, abominable and living hell. entertaining interesting CGI and good gore.so there is one problem with the movie it reminds me of a Jurassic park rip off. so that is my rating and review for aztch rex a good movie with a good amount of gore and some good acting. enjoy this review.

Obviously any film about Conquistadors battling theropods shouldn't be taken seriously, and sure enough the resulting movie is mindless entertainment, although still far from "so bad it's good".

The film has some level of charm; tyrannosaurs that always walk after prey instead of running (despite a character even stating he saw such acts)becomes... I don't know how to explain it but sometimes these things provide affection for this movie instead of making me think "wow, that's just terrible". Everything just clicks.

There are a couple of bad points however, the Shaman character, while intentionally antagonistic, becomes annoying to watch pretty quickly and tyrannosaurs in the film aren't quite as tough as I would've hoped for.