Jurassic World
There’s a reason that I try to take a quantitative approach to rating movies. It’s due to movies like this. Movies which I automatically want to give my highest rating for. Not particularly because they deserve such a high rating, but because of what the film represents to me, to my inner child. I have a strong nostalgic side which would take over, like the savage side of a man turned werewolf, and cloud my true judgement of the film. Since I try to report how a film stands up to a theater experience then I’ve had to hold back those urges and stay true to the review.
With that being said I’d like to
say that this is the best sequel I’ve seen so far in the Jurassic series. It’s been
over 20 years and the journey that John Hammond started has come full circle.
At the same time, through 3 films and now a 4th, we see that as a
race we humans seem to learn nothing new from our mistakes in any of the films.
Many of us were either kids or young adults when going to see this film, not
realizing the magic and wonder it would bring into our lives and imaginations.
The music, the dinosaurs, the iconic logos and visuals, and of course that
T-Rex roar, it
all came together to create a modern day icon in film. Using the
most advanced CGI at the time, in combination with extensive practical effects,
including dinosaur sized puppets, it’s a film that cannot be compared with its
sequels. Sure the story might continue through the sequels, but you can never
compare them to the original as far as story goes, or the writing, or even the
intent/feel. This sequel, Jurassic World, is no exception. I can’t stress this
enough, you CAN NOT compare it to the original! If you do then you’ll be setting
yourself up to see failure in this film, just like so many did for the previous
sequels. Like I said though, this is the best sequel, in my opinion, so far. It
comes closer than any of the others in getting that feeling that you had for
the first one, that first “movie high”. Even then, this film relies a lot on
the bones made by the first, and I don’t just mean figuratively. So now my
breakdown, and please enjoy . . . I’ve spared no expense!
 |
| John Hammond, creator of Jurassic Park. Played by Richard Attenborough |
 |
| Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park 1993 |
In the story we also see, as seen in the previews, a change
in man’s approach to these creatures. While fantastical, the idea of training
dinosaurs is now on the table. We see in the previews Christ Pratt riding a
motorcycle with Raptors and commanding them to stand down from eating a new guy
on the job. I can say with certainty that they go all out with this idea. I
think it’s great because now while we see man, and woman, still griping to his
dangerous illusion of control, man also gains and displays respect for nature
and her “Jurassic” creatures. In the first we see blind ignorance in regards to
Mother Nature and her ways. With The Lost World, the sequel, we saw blatant
disrespect for these amazing creatures and for that disrespect we saw more lives
lost than the first film. For the third film we saw a little bit of both,
provided Sam Neil’s character was the exception of course. For this film the
story finally entails some new found respect and acknowledgement of nature and
her power. For Chris Pratt’s character, a little power makes all the
difference!
Writing 4 – This is an action adventure film and for action
movies it’s usually a good idea to let the action do most of the talking. The
writers for Jurassic World do just that. What dialogue there is simply serves to
carry along information and keep the story moving, while also making sure that
the audience stays in-tuned to what’s happened, what’s happening, and what
could possibly happen next. The writing for each character is great. The older
brother has no corny or cliché lines when trying to console his brother, which
I love, and the younger brother is a brainiac and the complete opposite of his
older brother. Chris Pratt’s lines are possibly the most informative and, to no
one’s surprise, the funniest. Unfortunately you don’t get a lot of information
on the man who came to inherit John Hammond’s legacy and I think that was a
mistake. You can tell he probably isn’t a blood relative of John’s, but hey,
Jeff Goldblum had an African American daughter in the second film so who knows.
He gives no explanation as to why he was chosen, or how, and there’s no
backstory. If he was a minor character in the second or third film I’d be
shocked to have missed it, seeing as how I’ve watched all three films half a
dozen times prepping for this film. The writers also write in a few familiar
lines from the original which was fun. Through the writing we also see which
characters are clearly here for the continued illusion of control, along with
the other characters which believe they’re insane for believing in such an
illusion.
Acting 4 – We don’t have the acting ringers like Sam Neil,
Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Julianne Moore, or William H. Macy . . .
but we have a lot of promising young talent that are proving themselves to be
just as capable. Bryce Dallas Howard, playing the parks day-to-day operations
manager, is basically the personification of the illusion of control in the
film. She is nothing but control, as seen in the previews with her exchanges
with Chris Pratt, and plays it well. She also makes a great transition to
surprise, shock, and genuine worry when all hell breaks loose. In my opinion
she truly sales her character. The two brothers also do a great job, one being
the average guy teen interested in nothing but girls and how not to be awkward
(while totally being awkward about it), and the other being young and totally
focused on what he loves in life as a young boy. In each film, except the
second, there’s a child completely interested in dinosaurs. For this film the
young brother Gray, played by Ty Simpkins (Insidious 1 & 2, Iron Man 3),
continues in that passionate character tradition.  |
| B.D. Wong Jurassic 93/Jurassic 2015 |
We also do have a few acting veterans in Vincent O’Donofrio
(Daredevil, L&O: Criminal Intent) making an appearance and delivering as
usual. Plus, as an extra added bonus, we have B.D. Wong (Jurassic Park,
L&O: SVU) coming back to reprise his role from the original Jurassic Park
film as Dr. Henry Wu, a bioengineer. Or maybe I should say THE bioengineer!
As far as Chris Pratt goes it’s a double edged sword. On one
edge he’s funny and charismatic, he has this deep sense of genuine care in his
eyes and hands when handling the raptors, but I sadly don’t think he was right
for the part. For a film like this we need a character that has an intensity
about him. He can be funny of course, just look at Jeff Goldblum’s performance,
but he has to be able to convince us on the intensity of the situation and that
just isn’t Chris. He’s a funny guy for sure but with that baby face I’m afraid
that intensity just isn’t his thing. They can use shadowing from over-head
lighting all they want to, as seen in the elevator shot from the previews, but
it won’t work. He just doesn’t look like the intense guy that someone would
need to survive Jurassic Park. Sam Neil had the opposite, with almost complete
intensity and little humor. Even Jeff Goldblum had the propensity for intensity
in Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, or when the T-Rex is chasing after him in
the jeep from the first film. It’s no fault of Chris’s. He did a great job of
entertaining, but due to that baby-face and his funny demeanor I can’t say he
sold his character, or the situation, the way someone else could’ve. Chris
Evans maybe…
Production 5 – Production was great. This truly is the year
for super sequels in the way of practical effects. In a film where I expected
every dinosaur to be CGI and every “outdoor” shot to be conducted via green
screen, I was delightfully surprised to be proven wrong. We see a fair share,
fair by today’s standards, of puppets and practical effects that made me smile
with wide eyes and tight grips. The production was great not only for the
effects but for the cinematography as well. The way that some of the shots were
taken just screamed Steven Spielberg. Scenes like Chris Pratt riding with the raptors,
or certain shots showing the escaped prehistoric birds, they all seem like
shots taken from Indian Jones or the original Jurassic Park, or even Jaws! Not
to mention the CGI was flawless compared to the original 93 film. It looked
completely real comparatively and was amazingly smooth. 
Intent 5 – This film is obviously an action adventure film
so it’s first intention is to keep you at the edge of your seat, heart
pounding, eyes widened, hands gripping whatever’s closest, and all as soon as
the action starts. Once the action starts and the all hell breaks loose it
really doesn’t let up much. You’re constantly in a state of awareness trying to
figure out where this new genetic monster of a dinosaur is. Not only that, but
there are some serious “dino-battles” going on in this film. I mean yeah sure,
in the first three films we see the T-Rex battle a little, the Raptors battle
anything, and Wayne Knight battle diabetes, but nothing like the battle scenes
we see in this film. No joke, I sometimes felt like I was watching Godzilla or
King Kong. And while I promise to never spoil anything I will say that you’re
going to love the final battle! 
Story - 4
Writing - 4
Acting - 4
Production - 5
Intent - 5
Overall 4.4 / 5 - See it in theaters!
Comments
Post a Comment