Monday 15 June 2015

Jurassic World (Movie Review)



Yep. The poster says it all really. But as preposterous as the scene depicted on the poster might seem, the latest entry in the Jurassic Park series proves that watching a bunch of dinosaurs running loose and causing havoc is still as fun today as it was 22 years ago, when the first movie was released.

Jurassic World is the fourth movie in the franchise, but it serves as a direct sequel to the original film, choosing to ignore (for the most part) the events of the second and third movie. According to its timeline, a second dinosaur theme park (the titular Jurassic World) has been in operation for several years, but it has recently come under the threat of declining attendance levels, as the novelty of having a park full of living, breathing dinosaurs continues to fade.

This prompts the owner of Jurassic World to seek out a way to rekindle public interest in the park, by asking his chief geneticist to engineer a new breed of dinosaurs that would do just that. Their answer to the problem is the dinosaur dubbed Indominus Rex, a dinosaur hybrid that was specifically engineered to be the most ferocious of its kind. And the dinosaur lives up to that claim when it breaks out of captivity, to appropriately spectacular and chaotic effect.

It didn't take very long for me to realize just how closely this movie has been modeled after Jurassic Park. Much like the first film, this one starts slowly, taking the requisite amount of time to establish its premise and introduce its key players, with lead actor Chris Pratt failing to make an appearance until about thirty minutes into the film. But once the chaos begins, the action never let's up, and we get to experience the same level of tension we saw in the first film.

And therein lies the movie's greatest shortcoming, that sense of déjà vu that seems to pervade every other scene. Some might call it simple fan service though, and if that is the way you choose to look at it, then the movie-makers have achieved precisely what they set out to accomplish. They've created a worthy successor to Steven Spielberg's original vision, and a viable starting point for a new chapter in the Jurassic Park saga.


30 comments:

  1. It did ignore the other two films. What about the second island? What about the giant predator of the third film? He was bigger and more threatening than the hybrid they made.

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    1. The Spinosaurus was indeed more threatening than the so-called Indominus Rex. But I guess they wanted something totally new for this movie, something that would match the T-Rex in size, yet have the hunting skills and smarts of a Velociraptor.

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  2. Hello Michael!
    I'm dropping by after a longg time.. And guess what I get to read? A movie review of a movie i wanna watch!
    To be honest, I haven't watched the earlier parts till date. So first, I'm gonna watch all of them, and then head to a nearby theatre.
    The review is awesome. Really like those ones they teach us to write in school. Perfect presentation of facts, and summing it up with a personal opinion!

    Liked it! (y)

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    1. Gee, thanks, Mithila. I always try to structure all my reviews that way. I wanted to revisit the first three movies too, before seeing this one, the way I did with Mad Max, but I figured I'd seen each one enough times to have them permanently ingrained in my memory.

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  3. Does it have Wayne Knight? Because if it doesn't have Wayne Knight it's not properly evoking the original...

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    1. It doesn't I'm afraid. But it does have the John Williams score from the original, which has got to count for something. :)

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  4. I guess if they figured they had a formula that worked they might as well stick to it. After all the film will have some new audiences as well as those who want to relive the expectations created by the old film. To me this is part of the problem with so many remakes and sequels.

    But if the dinosaur effects are well done I guess it's like riding a thrill ride at an amusement park--you pretty much know what to expect but still the thrill is always kind of fun. I'll wait until it comes out on DVD.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

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    1. You're absolutely right. Much of the movie's success can be attributed to those who loved the original turning up to see this one, as well as a new generation of viewers not yet familiar with the original, but vaguely aware of its place in cinema history.

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  5. I've heard a lot of good things about this movie but if its just a rehash of the first one I think I'll wait until its on DVD. I can't believe its been 12 years since the first one - how old do I feel now lol
    Popping by on the A to Z Road Trip
    Debbie
    www.myrandommusings.blogspot.com

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    1. LOL. It makes me feel old too, even though I was just a kid when the first one was released in 1993.

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  6. I've heard such conflicting reports on this movie. I can't tell if I'm going to love of hate it. I'm going Friday, and keeping my fingers crossed. I loved Jurassic Park, so I'm nervous.

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    1. I'm glad to hear you'll be going to see it soon, Lauren. And I understand your concern. But you've got nothing to worry about; I'm sure you'd find enough reasons to love this one too. :D

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  7. Hey Michael, it's been a while. I did get your comment from 2 months ago, but you know how things are. I found a half-written post that I started when you had written to me, but it was another one that fell by the wayside.

    Jurassic World was one of the first new reviews I published on my website - I'm sorry to say I didn't really enjoy the film.

    Anyway, as I haven't really been on Blogger for the past 6 months or so, I have a bit of catching up to do with your posts from this year, so without further ado, here I go!

    Ed

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    1. Hello Ed. It's nice hearing from you again. Needless to say, we've missed your movie reviews over the months you've been absent. Sad to hear that you didn't enjoy Jurassic World as much as I did. I'll need to check out your review, and your new website, like asap.

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  8. Great visual effects, but I wasn't blown away like I was with the first. I liked the sneaky intelligence of the new dino and the raptor training scenes. It was smart to do something different with the raptors this time around.

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    1. I feel the same way. While this was a decent sequel, it didn't quite match that sense of wonder I felt while watching the first movie.

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  9. I found your this post while searching for some related information on blog search...Its a good post..keep posting and update the information.

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