I’m going to be honest here, despite the unpopularity of the position I am about to take: despite all the nostalgia that a huge number of people feel for it, I don’t think that Jurassic Park is actually a very good movie. I will admit that the special effects were revolutionary for their time, but it also has all the classical weaknesses of a Steven Spielberg movie: the acting is frankly a bit weak, the dialogue is often painfully cheesy, and the plot has enough holes to sink the Titanic many times over. And I might be a little harsh on the movie because I don’t feel the same level of nostalgia for it that many others do. But at the end of the day, what matters is not the movie’s cheesy dialogue or numerous plot holes; it’s the fact that seeing those dinosaurs eat people is fucking awesome. A similar logic applies to the new Jurassic World: it’s honestly not a great movie, but its still cool to see those dinosaurs on the big screen.
More than 20 years after the bloody disaster that was the original Jurassic Park, John Hammond’s dream has been realized with the creation of a new theme park: Jurassic World. Now controlled by the Masrani Corporation instead of the InGen Corporation, Jurassic World is everything that Jurassic Park would have been and more; it has everything from the Tyrannosaurus Rex feeding attraction to a dinosaur petting zoo and a massive Sea World-esque aquatic stadium for showing off marine dinosaurs. The problem now facing the park is that its now been open long enough that the dinosaurs are starting to lose some of their wonder in the eyes of the public, meaning park attendance and profits are decreasing. In order to rectify this, Masrani Corp commissions the creation of a new dinosaur. Not just any dinosaur, but a completely new species of dinosaur that never existed in nature. This species, created through genetic engineering, is designed to be both hyper-aggressive and extremely intelligent. It’s name: Indominus Rex.
I mean, what could possibly go wrong…
More than 20 years after the bloody disaster that was the original Jurassic Park, John Hammond’s dream has been realized with the creation of a new theme park: Jurassic World. Now controlled by the Masrani Corporation instead of the InGen Corporation, Jurassic World is everything that Jurassic Park would have been and more; it has everything from the Tyrannosaurus Rex feeding attraction to a dinosaur petting zoo and a massive Sea World-esque aquatic stadium for showing off marine dinosaurs. The problem now facing the park is that its now been open long enough that the dinosaurs are starting to lose some of their wonder in the eyes of the public, meaning park attendance and profits are decreasing. In order to rectify this, Masrani Corp commissions the creation of a new dinosaur. Not just any dinosaur, but a completely new species of dinosaur that never existed in nature. This species, created through genetic engineering, is designed to be both hyper-aggressive and extremely intelligent. It’s name: Indominus Rex.
I mean, what could possibly go wrong…
The first film in the franchise in over a decade (courtesy of Development Hell), Jurassic World in many ways is a return to the style of the original film. Rather than being about surviving predatory dinosaurs in the wilds of Isla Sorna, Jurassic World returns to the topic of the theme park on Isla Nublar. This is both a strength and a weakness for the film. One the one hand, its really cool to see what a fully functional dinosaur theme park would be like. But on the other, the plot of a dinosaur escaping and wreaking havoc is, well, not new anymore, even if there are plenty more things for the dinosaurs to destroy and fat tourists for them to eat. The movie feels too much like its re-treading old ground, and because the plot is so familiar it’s also very predictable.
Another problem is that this movie just doesn’t feel that special or unique. When Jurassic Park was released, its special effects were revolutionary, kicking-off the age of computer-generated animation. But that has come back to bite it in the butt, as CGI action-fests are a dime a dozen nowadays. If the effects had been particularly spectacular, say on similar levels to Avatar, than it would have been something, but the CGI of Jurassic World is virtually the same as every other summer blockbuster. It just doesn’t possess that same spark that the original had.
But all of that being said, watching dinosaurs eat people is still fucking awesome. Let’s be honest here: when we watch Jurassic Park, we don’t care about the corny writing or the plot holes, we want to watch that scene where a guy gets eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex while he’s on a toilet. When we watch Jurassic World, we don’t care about the fact that its lost some of its charm or the CGI isn’t completely amazing, we’re just waiting until the dinosaurs inevitably escape and cause their glorious mayhem.
Maybe its just because I’ve seen so many movies with gun fights and explosions and car chases that I’ve gotten bored of them, but there’s still something awesome about people running from their lives from Velociraptors. Don’t lie to yourself: that’s the reason why you and everyone else are going to see Jurassic World, and honestly I think that’s totally fine. It’s not a great movie, and we probably won’t fondly remember it many years later.
But damn isn’t awesome to see those dinosaurs.
Grade: B-
Another problem is that this movie just doesn’t feel that special or unique. When Jurassic Park was released, its special effects were revolutionary, kicking-off the age of computer-generated animation. But that has come back to bite it in the butt, as CGI action-fests are a dime a dozen nowadays. If the effects had been particularly spectacular, say on similar levels to Avatar, than it would have been something, but the CGI of Jurassic World is virtually the same as every other summer blockbuster. It just doesn’t possess that same spark that the original had.
But all of that being said, watching dinosaurs eat people is still fucking awesome. Let’s be honest here: when we watch Jurassic Park, we don’t care about the corny writing or the plot holes, we want to watch that scene where a guy gets eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex while he’s on a toilet. When we watch Jurassic World, we don’t care about the fact that its lost some of its charm or the CGI isn’t completely amazing, we’re just waiting until the dinosaurs inevitably escape and cause their glorious mayhem.
Maybe its just because I’ve seen so many movies with gun fights and explosions and car chases that I’ve gotten bored of them, but there’s still something awesome about people running from their lives from Velociraptors. Don’t lie to yourself: that’s the reason why you and everyone else are going to see Jurassic World, and honestly I think that’s totally fine. It’s not a great movie, and we probably won’t fondly remember it many years later.
But damn isn’t awesome to see those dinosaurs.
Grade: B-
RSS Feed
