When JURASSIC PARK came out in 1993, audiences were wowed by the concept of dinosaurs being genetically reborn for use as attractions in a prehistoric theme park. With all of the advances in genetic cloning through the years, it’s an idea that doesn’t seem that far-fetched these days. The newest installment in the popular franchise is JURASSIC WORLD, which finally sees a fully realized park filled with dinosaurs open to the public… what could possibly go wrong?
The opening of the story shows two eggs, both hatching with ominous-looking dinosaur babies peeking out. Unlike the previous three films, which opened with a dino attack, this one begins by introducing us to brothers Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson), who are saying goodbye to their parents and heading for Isla Nublar, which now contains a fully functioning theme park called Jurassic World. Their aunt Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) practically runs the entire island, but is so consumed with her work she won’t even make time to spend with her nephews. Instead she sticks them with her assistant, gives them VIP passes, and tells them to go have fun. We also meet the island’s corporate curator Masrani (Irrfan Khan), who takes pride in perfecting John Hammond’s grand idea. In a separate section of the island we find a sort of dinosaur whisperer named Owen (Chris Pratt) who wrangles velociraptors, and his warden-like boss Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio) who seems to have little respect for these creatures. It’s pretty clear that Owen wants to cultivate a sort of harmony with the animals, whereas Hoskins just sees them as potential military weapons. Rounding out the characters is control room tech guy Lowery (Jake Johnson) and dinosaur geneticist Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong, returning from the first movie).
We discover that the baby dinos shown in the eggs at the beginning are actually a sort of mutated hybrid, engineered by Dr. Wu in a effort to excite increasingly desensitized patrons. This new creation, called Indominous Rex, is housed in an enormous cage, and we learn that she’s alone now only because she ate her sibling… so yeah, she’s pretty big and bad. When Owen learns of the new dino, he cautions Claire that this is a disaster in the making. As the young brothers take in the island with all the other visitors, the Indominous Rex cleverly escapes her pen, and now the entire island is at severe risk as chaos is unleashed. Owen and Claire must do what they can to stop the threat and save the innocent visitors in the park.
In some ways JURASSIC WORLD feels very much like a remake of JURASSIC PARK, only this time instead of the park being a concept to be approved, it’s fully realized and filled with visitors. This outing is paced in a similar fashion to Steven Spielberg’s first film, taking its time to show us the dinosaurs, and having one large dino’s escape kick off the chaotic events that build to an exciting climax. But the familiarity isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the first movie is after all the one that worked the best anyway. Colin Trevorrow (SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED) proves himself quite capable in the director chair, keeping things entertaining and excelling in staging scenes of chaos and destruction. While the overall presentation has touches of Spielberg wonderment, Trevorrow never overly-emulates his predecessor to the point of being too familiar. And if I’m being honest, when the “all hell breaks loose” moments hit in the story, I dare say Trevorrow handles the action better than just about anyone else could have. Considering his modest beginning in the entertainment industry, this should put him on the map as a competent blockbuster filmmaker, and he should be proud of the end result.
With Chris Pratt being the hot name of the moment in Hollywood, I was initially worried that this might turn into a spotlight piece trying to capitalize off his popularity, perhaps even putting him more in the spotlight than the actual story. Happy to say that’s not the case. Pratt’s role is instead played rather centered and almost too serious. Gone is the Star-Lord wackiness fans of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY loved, this role is that of a man who has a job to do and little time for jokes. Some might even call it a little flat in terms of characterization, but ultimately it allows the story to take center stage, so while I appreciated how he was handled he’s just not that interesting of a hero. Bryce Dallas Howard, who is someone I’ve always felt kind of hit or miss with, is rather good here as the workaholic supervisor. She has to make that inevitable journey from doing what’s best for the park to doing what’s right for the people in it. Sadly, her chemistry with Pratt never really takes off, but they’re believable enough as an unlikely team amidst the pandemonium.
Perhaps the only weak link is the two young brothers, who never seem terribly sympathetic. Both Ty Simpkins (who is quite good in everything he’s in) and Nick Robinson do the best they can with the material, but their characters just feel underwritten. It’s established they’re not necessarily close to one another at the start, and Robinson’s character is more interested in meeting girls than looking after his brother, but their to-be-expected bonding during crisis just doesn’t feel very organic. The kids in the first movie (who granted were in the hands of Spielberg, who frequently makes magic with child actors) were just better in their youthful roles, but here the brothers suffer from the writing or lack of writing to make them more interesting. Jake Johnson adds some levity to what is mostly a dark and serious entry for the series, and has a truly classic moment toward the end that pokes fun at cinematic guy/girl bonding-in-crisis tropes. Vincent D’Onofrio plays a capable foil with his own agenda, but his character probably could have been developed a little more as well. He’s such a great actor and capable of great performances, but here he’s just sort of walking through the scenery.
The one other let down, which was particularly surprising to me, was the Michael Giacchino score. The normally exceptional composer just can’t find the right fit here, and outside of a few cues that borrow from John Williams’ classic themes from the first film, very little of the music is noticeable or memorable. It pains me to say that too, as I usually love Giacchino’s work.
A few things that really stand out are the effects, which are top notch and frequently quite impressive – this aspect also works well with the 3D, should you decide to see it that way. This is a great example of immersive 3D that’s never in your face, it just compliments the action nicely and makes the film look and feel bigger and better. There are also some nice practical effects incorporated throughout, and they mesh well with the CGI that dominates the dinosaur scenes. The movie is also quite violent, perhaps more than any of the previous entries, and that violence gives the production an intensity and darker tone, forcing us to take the material a little more seriously. If there’s one reason to see this installment, it’s the final act where things get really bad and major battles take place. The first JURASSIC PARK was limited in its finale due to the limitations of CGI at the time, THE LOST WORLD rambled on a little too long and overstayed its welcome, and JURASSIC PARK III was almost too heavy on action and too light on story. JURASSIC WORLD finds an almost perfect balance throughout, and paces things well to keep the audience interested and entertained. We never feel rushed, nor are we bored, it’s just solid entertainment with minor flaws and a fantastic finale. And in case you’re wondering, it does absolutely set things up for a sequel in a not so subtle way. If you’ve been waiting for a solid and satisfying follow up to the original film, this one really knocks it out of the park… pun intended.