Movie Review: Jurassic World (3D) (English)
In one of the earliest scenes in Jurassic World, the amusement park's operations manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) informs prospective sponsors of the pressure to keep reinventing themselves by unleashing new dino-attractions every now and then to keep the park afloat on the island of Isla Nublar. "No one is impressed by a dinosaur anymore," she bemoans. For a moment, I thought she was going meta, you know, talking about the film itself, like as if the makers were forced to come up with a story to bring back the prehistoric critters from extinction, and as if that alone was a perfectly valid reason to justify their revival. It's probably not, other than to bring in easy money for the movie studios backing it. Still stories about dinosaurs are fascinating, aren't they?
To be honest I love them. Perhaps obsessed would be the right word here (like the Gray Mitchell's character in the movie). Days after watching The Lost World, I even clearly remember making a hand-drawn version of the film's poster. Ah, those were the days! But I digress. Jurassic World, while making no pretense about its blockbuster aims, is essentially an upgrade from the Jurassic Park that opened 22 years ago - the rides, the new genetically modified dinosaurs (say hello to Indominus Rex!), the visual effects, everything screams 2015, except... for the plot. The gnarly creatures have gotten bigger, louder and have more teeth, but where are the thrills?
That's not to say the movie isn't entertaining though. It is. In fact, it toys with an interesting idea about using deextincted dinosaurs as killing machines in times of war but unfortunately it goes nowhere. (It's possible that this germ of a thought came from Planet of the Apes, considering the fact that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the script writers, were the ones behind the franchise's successful reboot.) And despite the largely sketchy characterisations, Chris Pratt shines as the raptor trainer Owen, turning in a very likeable performance. The kids, on the other hand, seem more like an afterthought, solely existing to create a narrative parallel to the original. Jurassic World, with a cheesy, over-the-top climax, is ultimately not your smart science-fiction adventure, but witty and solid fun it sure is!
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| Jurassic World |
That's not to say the movie isn't entertaining though. It is. In fact, it toys with an interesting idea about using deextincted dinosaurs as killing machines in times of war but unfortunately it goes nowhere. (It's possible that this germ of a thought came from Planet of the Apes, considering the fact that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the script writers, were the ones behind the franchise's successful reboot.) And despite the largely sketchy characterisations, Chris Pratt shines as the raptor trainer Owen, turning in a very likeable performance. The kids, on the other hand, seem more like an afterthought, solely existing to create a narrative parallel to the original. Jurassic World, with a cheesy, over-the-top climax, is ultimately not your smart science-fiction adventure, but witty and solid fun it sure is!
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