Jurassic Park 3

I want to apologize for posting this review up late. I have an upset stomach, so I basically had to rest before I had enough strength to post this. With that said, let’s start the review.

Wow! I cannot believe it. I’m already on my 300^th review. Isn’t that hard to imagine? In continuation of “Jurassic Park Month,” I think it would be right to give you my thoughts on “Jurassic Park 3.”

“Jurassic Park 3” is a step in the right direction for the dinosaur-based series and signifies the end of the original trilogy. Released in 2001, it’s the last installment to be released in theaters until 14 years later when “Jurassic World” came out. Although it’s not as good as it might have been under Steven Spielberg’s directing skills (who also was the executive producer), it’s a good success that gives a few memorable moments and glimpses of a new dinosaur.

The new dinosaur shown in this movie is the Spinosaurus, which is the first dinosaur in the series to fight and successfully defeat the Tyrannosaurus. Seeing how the first two “Jurassic Park” movies showed the T-Rex and the raptors as the main enemies, director Joe Johnston thankfully shows that he’s willing to try new things in his first installment in the series.

Johnston continues the story of the first two movies though by bringing back paleonotologist Alan Grant, reprised by Sam Neill, who was last seen in the original, as the protagonist. Early on, Grant is reunited with Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), his girlfriend and partner in paleonotology from the original, who has gone on to start her own family with a husband (Taylor Nichols) and a few children (one of them played by Blake Michael Bryan). Grant tells her that he’s still studying raptors and has recently discovered that raptors may have the ability to vocally communicate with one another. Obviously, he never wants to return to the island of Jurassic Park but is tricked into visiting site B (which was shown in the previous movie, “The Lost World”) when a young married couple named Paul (one of the greatest actors, William H. Macy) and Amanda (the hot Tea Leoni) Kirby convince him to serve as their tour guide on a private flight over that island (obviously, for a large fee).

The duo have hidden plans and are secretly searching for their mission son Eric, played by Trevor Morgan, who was last seen parasailing near site B with Mark Harelik. They plan to land the plane on the island to find him.

John Hanlon stated in his review, “Clocking in at 92 minutes, there’s an efficient thriller quality to this sequel.” After Grant and Kirby’s crew (including Alessandro Nivola and Michael Jeter) land on the island, Johnston keeps the action going at a strong and able pace. With fewer characters here than in “The Lost World,” he has the opportunity to build a few (although paper-thin) characters here. Macy and Leoni may not have much to do (other than run from dinosaurs) but their characters are finding their lost son. Hanlon goes on to say, “The goofy sarcasm and silliness of The Lost World has been replaced by a more serious tone (despite the fact that some of the special effects from this sequel don’t hold a candle to the effects from the previous two films).”

Neill makes up for the weaker characters by giving a sturdy lead performance. Hanlon stated, “More than any other character in this series, he is the dinosaur expert and his expertise helps guide the film with Neill providing the gravitas needed to keep the proceedings grounded (and the viewers informed about the dinosaur behavior we’re witnessing).”

It’s obvious that this film wasn’t made to compare to the original but what it does do, it does somewhat smoothly with only a few boundaries along the way. Instead of rehashing old material, the director makes a few small changes that make this story his own. Along with the main dinosaur changing, he also gives us a great Pterodactyl attack and another strong scene set on a river that runs through the island.

Hanlon ended his review by saying, “What Joe Johnston shows here is that this series still has a few stories left to tell and I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next.”

My verdict is if you were not impressed with “The Lost World,” then definitely check this one out. I know that this one is nowhere near as good as the first movie, and I don’t think that one will ever be topped, but it’s definitely good and better than the last one, in my opinion. However, maybe Nostalgia Critic was right when he said that it’s up for debate which one is the worst when you look at the second and the third movie. If you think the third one is the worst, I understand, but I guess the movie does know that it’s bad so it ends on a fast note.

Well, there’s only one thing left to do. I have to watch “Jurassic World” before next Friday so that I can see if that one is better than the sequels or worse. I have been hearing that it is the best sequel out of the entire trilogy, but I have to see it for myself. Just sit tight until next Friday for the conclusion of “Jurassic Park Month.”