My problem is there is no real proof they had feathers. We'll never really know which species had feathers or even what they actually looked like.
It's a stupid debate that will never have a conclusive answer.
lolwut
My thoughts, from the trailer thread:
We've never really had anyone attempt to portray feathered predators on-screen before, so how do we know they're not scary? Velociraptors are scary because Jurassic Park made them scary. No one outside of the dinosaur world knew what the hell a velociraptor was prior to 1993.
I take issue with the thought that feather dinosaurs CAN'T be scary. It just hasn't been done yet. Hence my example: prior to JP, ask anyone if they thought a velociraptor was scary and they would have no idea what you were talking about. If they did know about raptors, they would probably be scary but only in the general sense of "yeah, there were some big predators alive back then" fear.
Jurassic Park added a terrifying mystique to raptors, largely through how Spielberg handled them. There's no reason why the same couldn't happen with feathered dinos.
What I am trying to say is, it's all in the execution. There is a reason why the T-Rex in JP3 is not terrifying on sight: it pops its head up from a carcass and gives a goofy roar, then turns into a CG monster.
Compare that to how Spielberg handled the introduction of Rex in JP1, or even the raptors. We are scared of these creatures because the movie is
effective at making them scary.
Any talented director could make a feathered dinosaur feel "scary":