Jurassic World (2015) IMDb

The park is open, welcome to John Hammond’s dream come true, Jurassic World! It’s bigger and badder and has more teeth – well than the third installment at least. It’s hard to top the first Jurassic Park but where this one suffers from predictability and lacks emotional depth, it is far superior than Jurassic Park 3 and possibly The Lost World. Jurassic World offers two hours of solid entertainment and wonderful CGI, along with some nostalgia to tie in with the first.

It’s a rather simple story and doesn’t waste time to start. We’re introduced to Zach and Grey, the children this time around who get the fortune of seeing the dinosaurs up close in person, thanks to their parents who send them off for the weekend to visit their Auntie Claire, the park director, for some relationship bonding. Too bad she’s wrapped up in her work showing off the new park attraction to the investors. Apparently, the park attendants are becoming accustomed to seeing dinosaurs like seeing an elephant. According to the investors, park visitors are becoming bored and they need to re-inject the thrill and create something new (but they’re DINOSAURS for crying out loud). So they splice several DNA traits to create something that will wow the crowd. Something monstrous and dangerous so they will remember. Once again, the mad scientists succeed. Didn’t they learn the first time? As long as it’s cool and exciting, profit and crowds keep flooding in, what’s to worry? One can only imagine what Ian Malcolm and Alan Grant would say to this irresponsibly blind decision.

Like other Jurassic films, chaos ensues. At times, Jurassic World is predictable and it can feel messy like towards the end. But it’s a fun ride nonetheless. The raptors move more like their descendants, reacting like birds. The scene in which they are introduced with Chris Pratt’s Owen, is believable and most interesting to see these animals obey commands and why. The CGI is by far the best out of the series, making the dinosaurs more life like and detailed. It was hard to tell the difference between animatronics and CGI. The genetically cross bred monster is scary and fierce. They did a great job constructing this killing machine but it still doesn’t have the same presence the T-Rex did in the original. I didn’t feel for any of the characters except Owen who I’m sure everyone will root for. He doesn’t have the same presence as Grant or Malcolm, but who wants the same guy? He’s a different character and doesn’t try to be like who they were. Owen carries most of the comedic weight (and brains for that matter). The ending fight scene is a blast and a lot more satisfying than Jurassic Park 3, even though it is total Hollywood. The theater I was in even began to clap…yea, I did, too.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Universal decided to make another Jurassic themed ride or even park. The movie, for the most part, was believable. The park itself felt real with it’s product placement and an original layout that seems like a blueprint for something we can one day have the pleasure of walking through ourselves.

This is Colin Trevorrow’s first big budget film, before this he hasn’t done much except Safety Not Guaranteed. I’d consider this a great feat. It’s a quick, entertaining film i can see him doing more of. What I found cool was that they brought back some ideas from previous installments that were scrapped. One I noticed and I was happy for was the pterodactyl scene. Originally, in the Lost World, how it was going to end was the survivors were escaping via helicopter and they get attacked by a couple pterodactyls. This scene was revived here in this feature and even kept an unfortunate pilot getting stabbed by a beak. I am not happy with the end sequence of The Lost World: Jurassic Park because I felt it was self indulgent. Given, it’s cool to see a T-Rex roaming the city streets, watching Asian people running from a giant prehistoric lizard, and crew cameos getting eaten; but it was typical Hollywood and Spielberg really just wanted to see what it would be like to release this dinosaur in public. I’d prefer that to have waited for another installment. Perhaps I will eventually divulge myself into reviewing The Lost World and further explain. But at least it was not forgotten and found it’s way here.

This 4th installment reminds me even more of the Alien films than the previous efforts. Their is a hidden motive, or agenda if you will, for Hoskins. This made me love this franchise that much more because Alien is one of my all time favorites as in story and where it has gone. Once you witness Jurassic World for yourself, you can almost see where the next will follow, it has my curiosity, since it’s a believable solution. Either the military takes control for war disposal, or worse, creates human-dinosaur hybrids.

Jurassic World is not perfect. Regardless though, you will be entertained and have forgotten or wished there never was a 3. The lack of patience it had resulted in a loss of emotional depth and some showmanship, and the writing quickly covers up the deep themes the original talked about. This sequel did what it was supposed to and kept things different without swaying too far from the core Jurassic experience. Maybe next time the scientists will think twice before bio-engineering something not naturally existent, that’s if Ingen doesn’t get in the way. There are even easter eggs littered throughout, like a woman reading Ian Malcolm’s book on the bus or the mosquito caught in the amber from the first movie is made into a larger monument. I think this is the sequel Jurassic deserves without trying to be a brainless copy. It’s a fun adventure that is refreshing, believable, and possibly the best to come out since the original Jurassic Park.

Welcome to the park of Jurassic World.