REVIEW: Jurassic World

JURASSIC WORLD

RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

RATED: PG-13

RATING: *****/*****

 

PREMISE: (via IMDB) 22 years after the original Jurassic Park failed, the new park (also known as Jurassic World) is open for business. After years of studying genetics the scientists on the park genetically engineer a new breed of dinosaur. When everything goes horribly wrong, will our heroes make it off the island?

 

THE PRO'S: Extremely fun, engaging story, awesome Dinosaurs, absolutely EPIC finale and final fight, character dynamics are excellent.

 

THE CON'S: Needed a little more peril for the tourists, more time in the park before the destruction could have been nice, some characters needed more to do.

 

THE REVIEW:

Now, this review was held off for a good reason: I'm a Jurassic Park fanboy, always have been, always will be. And I wanted a second viewing before I sold you guys on how awesome it was from opening day awe alone. But after my second showing tonight, I can honestly say: not only is the park open, but it is SPECTACULAR.

 

The story of Jurassic World picks up more than two decades after the original. With a fully functioning park on Isla Nubar (where Jurassic Park originated) having been up and running for nearly a decade. Unfortunately, attendance is slowly declining as interest in dinosaurs drops drastically. A fact which forces the higher-ups to create something new to bring back the wow factor: a genetic hybrid. Unfortunately, the super-intelligent creature soon backfires drastically as it escapes and begins hunting for sport on the island.

 

Since I will admittedly be gushing for most of this review otherwise, I'm going to get what I felt were the Cons of this movie out of the way first. First of all: for a fully-functioning park to be open, I expected a bit more carnage when everything went down. The fact it was contained mostly to where the leads were really needed to be scrapped in favor of chaos exploding in the park. Though make no mistake, when things go down around the tourists it is AWESOME. I would have loved to see more of that dynamic explored.

 

On top of this, I feel we needed a little more time spent in the park itself. Yes, we get a lot of time as it is, but a lot of the wonder comes from seeing this fully-functioning park. And I think, again, maybe a little more time spent with exploring the park and showing more attractions could have been thrown in. Which itself would have lent to my first qualm about the movie, because the more dinos introduced could have meant more means of chaos.

And finally, in order to get into my last qualm, I first have to say. I'm in the minority, but I loved the characters. I thought the dynamics between everyone were great, and though they aren't totally deep, neither were the original group. So I really loved them for the fun characters they were, and the cast delivered great performances.

 

But this said, my qualm here is some were underused too much. I especially felt there was a lot of untapped potential in Jeff Goldbloom (Ian Malcom) stand-in Lowrey and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard)'s assistant, Zara. Who at the end of the day, were fun in what screentime they had, but definitely needed more screen time. Something I think should be fixed in a sequel and its characters is simply put: let the supporting cast have their time to shine too.

 

Now that this is out of the way, I have to say, despite its faults Jurassic World is by far THE best sequel we have gotten to the original. To say the least, it made me feel like a giddy little kid again in the best way. In short, I feel that all the wonder, and action of the original is here, and it is just SO much fun. Probably the most fun movie of the summer so far, next to Avengers, and it's clear that the filmmakers had fun too, which only adds to it.

 

Another huge plus is the story itself. I feel like though some ideas were underused, the story wasn't. I liked who I was supposed to like, I hated who I was supposed to hate, and I really enjoyed how well the story came together as a whole. Everything about it seemed to just work remarkably well, and while the plot isn't anything deep or profound it is definitely well done and handled.

 

And speaking of the story, I have to say, the finale it led to almost made the movie all on its own. I cannot say this enough: that finale was probably the best of any movie of its kind. I dare not even begin to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. It's something none of the trailers dared to give away either. But boy, is it just about the biggest crowd-pleaser I have seen in a long time. And I could not help but clap at it both times I saw the film.

 

But by far the best thing about it, as it should be is the dinosaurs. Specifically I really, really enjoyed "raptor squad". I know that a lot of people were skeptical about the use of "trained raptors" in this movie, but it was pulled off brilliantly. And they easily, by leaps and bounds, stole the show with their awesome personalities and fun nature.

 

Other dinosaur highlights come from the new hybrid: The Indonemous Rex (or D-REX), who is probably the second best villain the series has had (right behind the T-Rex). And the Pterodactyls, whose scene is probably one of the most memorable in the entire film. But really, there are tons of cool dinosaurs to gawk at and be amazed by throughout. So frankly, it did its job well.

 

And as said before, the acting and characters are lots of fun themselves. I really enjoyed everyone, with big stand-outs for me being the two kids Zach and Grey  (Nick Robinson and Ty Sympkins), Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), Barry (Omar Si), and Lowrey (Jake Johnson). All of them really gave it their all, and delivered some fun and memorable performances, at least in my opinion. I can't wait to see how further stories expand upon the surviving characters.

 

So, to wrap this up....

 

IN CONCLUSION:

Jurassic World is THE summer blockbuster to beat, and THE best Jurassic Park sequel of them all. Its engaging story, fun visuals and dinosaurs, outstanding cast and chemistry, and just pure awesomeness clearly outweighs any negatives in this film. Whether you're an old fan, or someone totally new, if you haven't seen this, put it at the top of your list. You won't regret it.

 

5 OUT OF 5 STARS

MY HIGHEST RECCOMENDATIONS


A SIDE NOTE:
Let me save fellow super-fans a little disappointment. If you read the "news" that Lex Murphy (the little girl in the original) was going to be back in some way. It ended up being a bogus rumor, she is nowhere to be found in the sequel (sad to say). Hopefully they'll bring both generations together in the inevitable Part 5 though!