Alright everyone, the time has finally come. I got a chance to watch “Jurassic World” last night, so now I will let everyone know my thoughts on the film. This film came out on the 12th of this month, and I was really looking forward to this film. Time to see how it is:
Back in 1993, when Steven Spielberg’s highest-grossing movie “Jurassic Park” came out, the world was at a different time. We had only saw dinosaurs in story books and lifeless labs until the movie came out. Then, they were there on screen in their CGI-meets-practical effects glory and our theater-going experience was not the same after that.
Jyoti Sharma Bawa of the Hindustan Times stated in her review, “Nothing, we repeat, nothing can outdo that first introduction to dinos, resplendent as it was in its Spielbergian wizardry.” However, it is to the credit of the larger and louder dinosaurs, the film’s director Colin Trevorror and the cast, which includes Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Irrfan Khan that while seeing this you compare it to the first “Jurassic Park,” and not its less-than-watchable sequels.
We meet the park’s tense manager Claire (the hot Bryce Dallas Howard) and billionaire owner Sam (Irrfan Khan) early on. Irrfan’s character is the perfect person for the torch to be passed on from John Hammond. He understands that his dinosaurs need to entertain the audience, knows that they need to push science to come up with the latest attractions. Does Sam care about the brought-back-from-dead species? He says he does, but somehow it is hard to believe him.
Claire is a money grubber. She knows people want bigger, better dinosaurs with more teeth and she is ready to give them to the visitors of the park. Bawa mentioned, “The result of DNA tinkering in the lab (we are never clearly told whose) is the albino dino Indominus Rex who has the built of a T Rex and intelligence of a highly skilled killer.”
The dinosaur is a female who tries escaping her cage and Claire is sent running to the park’s raptor trainer-resident baddie Owen, played by Chris Pratt. To make things more edge-of-the-seat, Claire’s nephews Gray and Zack (Ty Simpson and Nick Robinson) are visiting the park and Vic Hoskins (the awesome Vincent D’Onofrio) is described by Bawa as, “wants to weaponise the dinos and use them in situations such as Tora Bora.”
The rest is predictable to any fan of the series – killer dinosaur is on the loose, people being eaten and other people (the main cast) managing to avoid the dinosaur’s jaws by their natural bravery and intelligence.
Bawa says, “What really works is the film's meta commentary on how to manage the audience's demand.” Like the people we see in the film, we want so much more than just dinosaurs from the series. “Jurassic World” has turned into a little more than a petting zoo where people would rather pay more attention to their smartphones than watch a Mosasaurus eat its prey. “Nobody is excited to see a dinosaur anymore,” Claire says as an introduction to a focus group. When asked what shareholders of “Jurassic World” want, her answer is, “We want to be thrilled.”
The same can be said for the audience. The film is a sarcastic commentary on how corporate moneygrubbers are running the game and it is necessarily disrespectful in a scene where toddlers are seen riding baby dinosaurs or when the king of all the beasts, T-Rex, is reduced to a circus monkey. Bawa said that, “The underlying message of this self referencing film is: We are going to give you some CGI-filled mayhem which will be akin to Transformers-meets-Sharknado. Just don’t blame us when stuff hits the fan.”
Here’s the problem: The CGI falls ages short of “Jurassic Park’s” realistic feel. It looks unreal in parts and forced in others. How we miss those practical effects of Spielberg which made the first film shockingly real.
Bawa compliments, “Trevorrow makes a confident debut in the arena of blockbuster arena. He seems to be channeling Spielberg who is the executive producer of this one. The build up before the violence is unleashed, the device of using a pair of kids of an about-to-be-divorced couple (the hot Judy Greer and Andy Buckley) and even a visit to the vine-encrusted original park is all Spielbergian and yet has Trevorrow's stamp.” The director knows that the audience wants an action-filled ride, scarier and bigger than last time, and gives it to them.
The cast delivers. Our Middle-Eastern export, Irrfan, is as good as always and beautifully performs the philosopher-entertainer. Chris Pratt delivers again after “Guardians of the Galaxy” as the funny-great guy. Bawa mentions, “It is his lack of chemistry with Howard which is the only jarring point.” The kids are supposed to look cute and scared, and they do.
Now, the answer to the question: Is the film as good as “Jurassic Park?” No, it is not but it is the best sequel that might be almost as good.
Expect cameos from country singer Jimmy Buffett, “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon and director Brad Bird. BD Wong from the first movie is the only returning cast member from the first movie in here and his role is bigger. Omar Sy is also in this movie as Pratt’s friend and the hot Kate McGrath is in here as Claire’s assistant who takes care of the kids when she is busy.
I have a slight problem with a couple of the characters. Vincent D’Onofrio plays the typical bad guy who just wants to take over the park and make money, which is something I have seen done before many times. Also, the older brother is a complete jerk to his little brother, who is relatable since anyone who has an older brother can relate, but this is just “way too” cruel. However, with that being said, I think this movie should have been the second in the series. Forget “The Lost World” and “Jurassic Park III,” this is the true sequel to the first movie. The effects looked nice, the characters were good, you did feel scared at parts, and it was an overall good movie. Don’t worry everyone, you can go to the theaters and watch this movie, so go see it while you still can, it’s the best sequel in the franchise, although I think I’m sounding repetitive.
Thanks for joining in on “Jurassic Park Month.” I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as I did. Stay tuned next month to see what I will review next.
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