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Jurassic World
Hello MoFos! It is time once again for At the Theater with The Gunslinger45! And this week we have one of the BIG summer releases opening, the third sequel to the classic summer blockbuster Jurassic Park. Back in the early 90’s this movie was released and it was HUGE! I mean the movie broke all kinds of box office records, broke new ground in the use of CGI, and until Titanic came along it was the highest grossing film of all time. And it was excellent! The sequels to Jurassic Park however… not so much. Jurassic Park: Lost World was over long, surprisingly underwhelming, and felt really forced. It was a piece of crap. Jurassic Park III while better then Lost World, was still really mediocre. But I would watch the third movie over Lost World any day of the week. At least three had Laura Dern in it. So when it was announced that yet another sequel was being made to Jurassic Park, I was naturally skeptical. I mean the last two were bad, why go for a third bite of the apple? Easy… Hollywood is chasing the big bucks. Jurassic Park was a gold mine for Universal and even the crappy sequels made a lot of cash. And not just at the box office. Summer blockbusters do make butt loads of money. But as Yogurt from Spaceballs once said, the real money from the movie is made in the merchandising. And Jurassic Park merchandise is a gateway to pornographic amounts of profit. T-shirts, mugs, DVDs, video games, breakfast cereals, coloring books, and enough toys to make every school aged kid who loved dinosaurs go insane. All of whom are screaming at mom and dad to buy them stuff. And most parents will do it just to shut their kids up. And in this day and age of reboots and sequels, naturally they figured “why not make another Jurassic Park movie?” Only this time Dr Grant, Dr Sattler, and Ian Malcom are not in this movie. So here I sit, once again thinking that yet another sequel far removed from the original is being made as a quick cash grab. I figured the the movie would be okay maybe, but still make enough profit for more sequels. And you know what? I was half right. I was on target that this movie will make all kinds of money. I was wrong thinking this would just be okay. The movie is actually pretty damn awesome. But how does it stack up in the franchise? Well grab your gun, get in the truck, and watch out for the T-Rex as we explore Jurassic World. And since Ian Malcom is not in this movie… expect him to pop up in this review.
The movie opens on a very familiar scene, raptors hatching from eggs in the research facility of the theme park Jurassic World. Turns out somewhere along the line, Hammond (Richard Attenborough in the first movie) passed on his control of the park to a guy named Masrani. And Masrani has recognized the vision Hammond had and opened a gigantic theme park resort on the island. Complete with rides, a Seaworld-esque mosasaurus exhibit that makes Shamu look like a bitch, a petting zoo with baby triceratops, and a full-fledged safari style tour. Needless to say, this place is Disneyland for dinosaur lovers. But like any other business, you have to stay one step ahead of the game. You always have to come out with something new. And so they come up with a brilliant idea. Create a new dinosaur by splicing together the genes from other dinosaurs. If this sounds like a bad idea… congratulations! You have a working frontal lobe. But the scientists, still headed by Dr Woo from the first movie do it anyway. Why? Because…
I mean the first film pretty much concluded that man should not tamper in God’s domain, so now they did it again. Only now they intend to screw with nature even more by trying to make a bigger, better, and scarier dinosaur. And bigger and scarier they did make it. They took T-Rex DNA, spliced it with a few other dinosaurs, filled in the gaps with other animals like last time and created a new creature. And their plan for this new beast? Turn it into the new star attraction of the island! Because they believe they can control the beast that ate its sibling.
You know for super smart scientists who can clone dinosaurs, they are really freaking stupid. So they create this new dinosaur called Indominus Rex. Which is Latin for “I am going to f**k all kinds of s**t up.” The vice president of the park and head of everyday operations is Claire Dearing. She is concerned about this new dinosaur and she decides to get a second opinion on the enclosure from Owen Grady. Owen Grady is an ex-Navy guy (I am guessing a SEAL) and is played by Chris Pratt. A man so likeable he is the trainer for the velociraptors, and they listen to all his commands. So much so he can step into their pens and not get eaten. I guess they loved Guardians of the Galaxy too. Owen and Claire go up to where the Indominus Rex is to see what is up. Only they find a certain discrepancy with the enclosure. Things go wrong and the dino gets out due to some very unseen circumstances. So now we have a rampaging super dino on the loose in the park. And to make things even more complicated Claire's nephews are at the park and they are stuck in the safari zone. And no one thought this could happen? You know like it did 20 years ago? Reminds me of words of wisdom from Ian Malcom…
So yeah this movie is awesome. But that being said, this movie does have flaws. Now I say again, I have no issue with CGI. One of my all time favorite movies involves Mark Ruffalo turning into a giant green rage monster. CGI is a great tool. But a big part of what made the original Jurassic Park great was its use of CGI AND animatronics. A lot of the dinosaur shots in the original movie had the dinosaurs physically in the shot. An animatronic T-Rex smashed through the roof of the car in the rain. Animatronic raptors stared down and stalked humans. And a massive animatronic triceratops was used. All gave either a sense of terror or a sense of wonder, depending on the dinosaur and situation. In this film, the overwhelming majority of the dinos are CGI. Which is fine, for the most part. I am not asking for some guy to make a robot mosasaurus for crying out loud. Trying to get that to swim though the water and get the shots needed would be a bigger pain in the ass then the production on Jaws! But at the same time there were a lot of moments in the movie that they COULD have used animatronics. Like the raptors hatching from the eggs (I mean they did that so well in the first movie). Or how about when they are standing still and interacting with Chris Pratt? I mean say what you want about the other sequels, they at least used animatronics pretty well in them. They just needed a better script. Now there was one scene that I could pick out where it looked like an animatronic, but that was one scene in a two hour movie. But that is not a huge deal for me and it did not hinder my enjoyment of the film. Certain side plots however did. There is a side plot in the movie about a private security company named InGen (guys from Lost World) and they are led by Vic Hoskins, played by Vincent D’Onofrio. I don’t know how Gomer Pyle survived Full Metal Jacket, but it seems he wants to use the raptors for the purposes of war. Because as we all know we as humans can control dinosaurs.
He tries to get Owen to sign on, but Owen has half a brain and says no. This private security company also has a role in later events of the film I do not wish to spoil, but they will set up the inevitable future sequels. In addition the two nephews in the movie are sent to the park alone to meet up with their aunt because Mommy and Daddy are finalizing their divorce. Now I know Spielberg is the Executive Producer on this movie, I know Spielberg’s parents got divorced when he was young, and I know that plays a big part in a lot of his movies BUT ENOUGH WITH THE DIVORCING PARENTS ALREADY! Especially since this sub plot ultimately never has ANYTHING to do with the movie! What also felt unneeded is the romantic sub plot between Owen and Claire. Turns out they had a date and it did not go so well, and now the two have a relationship right out of a bad sitcom. Kinda like Malcom’s attempts at hitting on Dr Sattler.
If they wanted the two together, they should have been written to be dating from the start. I can buy a rich board type lady wanting to date Chris Pratt. Otherwise, have them just be boss and employee. I’m sure it was supposed to tie into the divorce subplot and how family, relationships, and trust are important or something but the execution was pretty bad.
But again, this movie is the best of the sequels. Then again, that was not hard to do. Lost World and Jurassic Park III were kinda crappy. So this movie being good is sort of…
Or in this case Hollywood finds a way. Jurassic World basically starts over from scratch. They focus on new characters, introduce new dinosaurs, and expand the idea of the dino theme park to new heights. Not to mention they got one of the best choices for a leading man in Chris Pratt. After his turn as Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, he is not only an A list actor now, he is a damn charming one at that. Without Chris Pratt a good chunk of the market for this movie will say “this is an unneeded sequel why should I see it?” But with Pratt in a lead role, now they will say either “Awesome! Star Lord is in the new Jurassic Park!” Or at the very least say “this sequel in unneeded, but it has Chris Pratt so I will give it a shot.” For the record I was in group number 2. And while the set ups for the kids and the Claire / Owen stuff was at first pretty lame, by the end of the movie each part does have their payoffs. Claire and Owen do actually have good chemistry once they start looking for the boys. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard play off each other well and do make for a good on screen couple. And just like Tim and Lex in the original, you do come to care for the two kids in the film. And this film does seem to be taking The Avengers approach when it comes to its humor. This film does try to put in its own quick comedic Joss Whedon-esque beats into the film. Which is not a bad thing when your lead is Chris Pratt. He has great experience with comedic timing from his work on Guardians and Parks and Recreation. And for the most part, the humor does work. Sometimes it felt unneeded, but the good did outweigh the bad. So you have a bigger park, more dinosaurs, you have Chris Pratt, and a healthy dose of humor. All you need now is a killer third act and you have box office gold. Well it is a damn good thing they do, because the last part of the movie is one HELL of a ride! Well worth the price of admission alone! Not only does it involve a massive evacuation of the park and Chris Pratt riding a motorcycle alongside his velociraptors; but it also has a FANTASTIC final fight! Now in the previous films it has always been man versus dinosaur. NOW we get man and dinosaur vs dinosaur! That is really all I want to say about this final part of the film since I do not want to spoil the flick. I want you the reader to react like I did when I saw this movie. But seriously, THIS was why I saw this movie! A fantastic final payoff!
So was this movie needed? No. Was this movie good? Hell yeah! I had a lot of fun at the theater. Which is really all I ask for out of a Jurassic Park movie. Hand me a snack, let me grab a drink, and let me enjoy myself. I was able to do that with this movie, so I do approve. Sure it is no Jurassic Park, but it could have been SO much worse. Remind me to thank John for a lovely weekend!
Jurassic World
Hello MoFos! It is time once again for At the Theater with The Gunslinger45! And this week we have one of the BIG summer releases opening, the third sequel to the classic summer blockbuster Jurassic Park. Back in the early 90’s this movie was released and it was HUGE! I mean the movie broke all kinds of box office records, broke new ground in the use of CGI, and until Titanic came along it was the highest grossing film of all time. And it was excellent! The sequels to Jurassic Park however… not so much. Jurassic Park: Lost World was over long, surprisingly underwhelming, and felt really forced. It was a piece of crap. Jurassic Park III while better then Lost World, was still really mediocre. But I would watch the third movie over Lost World any day of the week. At least three had Laura Dern in it. So when it was announced that yet another sequel was being made to Jurassic Park, I was naturally skeptical. I mean the last two were bad, why go for a third bite of the apple? Easy… Hollywood is chasing the big bucks. Jurassic Park was a gold mine for Universal and even the crappy sequels made a lot of cash. And not just at the box office. Summer blockbusters do make butt loads of money. But as Yogurt from Spaceballs once said, the real money from the movie is made in the merchandising. And Jurassic Park merchandise is a gateway to pornographic amounts of profit. T-shirts, mugs, DVDs, video games, breakfast cereals, coloring books, and enough toys to make every school aged kid who loved dinosaurs go insane. All of whom are screaming at mom and dad to buy them stuff. And most parents will do it just to shut their kids up. And in this day and age of reboots and sequels, naturally they figured “why not make another Jurassic Park movie?” Only this time Dr Grant, Dr Sattler, and Ian Malcom are not in this movie. So here I sit, once again thinking that yet another sequel far removed from the original is being made as a quick cash grab. I figured the the movie would be okay maybe, but still make enough profit for more sequels. And you know what? I was half right. I was on target that this movie will make all kinds of money. I was wrong thinking this would just be okay. The movie is actually pretty damn awesome. But how does it stack up in the franchise? Well grab your gun, get in the truck, and watch out for the T-Rex as we explore Jurassic World. And since Ian Malcom is not in this movie… expect him to pop up in this review.
The movie opens on a very familiar scene, raptors hatching from eggs in the research facility of the theme park Jurassic World. Turns out somewhere along the line, Hammond (Richard Attenborough in the first movie) passed on his control of the park to a guy named Masrani. And Masrani has recognized the vision Hammond had and opened a gigantic theme park resort on the island. Complete with rides, a Seaworld-esque mosasaurus exhibit that makes Shamu look like a bitch, a petting zoo with baby triceratops, and a full-fledged safari style tour. Needless to say, this place is Disneyland for dinosaur lovers. But like any other business, you have to stay one step ahead of the game. You always have to come out with something new. And so they come up with a brilliant idea. Create a new dinosaur by splicing together the genes from other dinosaurs. If this sounds like a bad idea… congratulations! You have a working frontal lobe. But the scientists, still headed by Dr Woo from the first movie do it anyway. Why? Because…
I mean the first film pretty much concluded that man should not tamper in God’s domain, so now they did it again. Only now they intend to screw with nature even more by trying to make a bigger, better, and scarier dinosaur. And bigger and scarier they did make it. They took T-Rex DNA, spliced it with a few other dinosaurs, filled in the gaps with other animals like last time and created a new creature. And their plan for this new beast? Turn it into the new star attraction of the island! Because they believe they can control the beast that ate its sibling.
You know for super smart scientists who can clone dinosaurs, they are really freaking stupid. So they create this new dinosaur called Indominus Rex. Which is Latin for “I am going to f**k all kinds of s**t up.” The vice president of the park and head of everyday operations is Claire Dearing. She is concerned about this new dinosaur and she decides to get a second opinion on the enclosure from Owen Grady. Owen Grady is an ex-Navy guy (I am guessing a SEAL) and is played by Chris Pratt. A man so likeable he is the trainer for the velociraptors, and they listen to all his commands. So much so he can step into their pens and not get eaten. I guess they loved Guardians of the Galaxy too. Owen and Claire go up to where the Indominus Rex is to see what is up. Only they find a certain discrepancy with the enclosure. Things go wrong and the dino gets out due to some very unseen circumstances. So now we have a rampaging super dino on the loose in the park. And to make things even more complicated Claire's nephews are at the park and they are stuck in the safari zone. And no one thought this could happen? You know like it did 20 years ago? Reminds me of words of wisdom from Ian Malcom…
So yeah this movie is awesome. But that being said, this movie does have flaws. Now I say again, I have no issue with CGI. One of my all time favorite movies involves Mark Ruffalo turning into a giant green rage monster. CGI is a great tool. But a big part of what made the original Jurassic Park great was its use of CGI AND animatronics. A lot of the dinosaur shots in the original movie had the dinosaurs physically in the shot. An animatronic T-Rex smashed through the roof of the car in the rain. Animatronic raptors stared down and stalked humans. And a massive animatronic triceratops was used. All gave either a sense of terror or a sense of wonder, depending on the dinosaur and situation. In this film, the overwhelming majority of the dinos are CGI. Which is fine, for the most part. I am not asking for some guy to make a robot mosasaurus for crying out loud. Trying to get that to swim though the water and get the shots needed would be a bigger pain in the ass then the production on Jaws! But at the same time there were a lot of moments in the movie that they COULD have used animatronics. Like the raptors hatching from the eggs (I mean they did that so well in the first movie). Or how about when they are standing still and interacting with Chris Pratt? I mean say what you want about the other sequels, they at least used animatronics pretty well in them. They just needed a better script. Now there was one scene that I could pick out where it looked like an animatronic, but that was one scene in a two hour movie. But that is not a huge deal for me and it did not hinder my enjoyment of the film. Certain side plots however did. There is a side plot in the movie about a private security company named InGen (guys from Lost World) and they are led by Vic Hoskins, played by Vincent D’Onofrio. I don’t know how Gomer Pyle survived Full Metal Jacket, but it seems he wants to use the raptors for the purposes of war. Because as we all know we as humans can control dinosaurs.
He tries to get Owen to sign on, but Owen has half a brain and says no. This private security company also has a role in later events of the film I do not wish to spoil, but they will set up the inevitable future sequels. In addition the two nephews in the movie are sent to the park alone to meet up with their aunt because Mommy and Daddy are finalizing their divorce. Now I know Spielberg is the Executive Producer on this movie, I know Spielberg’s parents got divorced when he was young, and I know that plays a big part in a lot of his movies BUT ENOUGH WITH THE DIVORCING PARENTS ALREADY! Especially since this sub plot ultimately never has ANYTHING to do with the movie! What also felt unneeded is the romantic sub plot between Owen and Claire. Turns out they had a date and it did not go so well, and now the two have a relationship right out of a bad sitcom. Kinda like Malcom’s attempts at hitting on Dr Sattler.
If they wanted the two together, they should have been written to be dating from the start. I can buy a rich board type lady wanting to date Chris Pratt. Otherwise, have them just be boss and employee. I’m sure it was supposed to tie into the divorce subplot and how family, relationships, and trust are important or something but the execution was pretty bad.
But again, this movie is the best of the sequels. Then again, that was not hard to do. Lost World and Jurassic Park III were kinda crappy. So this movie being good is sort of…
Or in this case Hollywood finds a way. Jurassic World basically starts over from scratch. They focus on new characters, introduce new dinosaurs, and expand the idea of the dino theme park to new heights. Not to mention they got one of the best choices for a leading man in Chris Pratt. After his turn as Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, he is not only an A list actor now, he is a damn charming one at that. Without Chris Pratt a good chunk of the market for this movie will say “this is an unneeded sequel why should I see it?” But with Pratt in a lead role, now they will say either “Awesome! Star Lord is in the new Jurassic Park!” Or at the very least say “this sequel in unneeded, but it has Chris Pratt so I will give it a shot.” For the record I was in group number 2. And while the set ups for the kids and the Claire / Owen stuff was at first pretty lame, by the end of the movie each part does have their payoffs. Claire and Owen do actually have good chemistry once they start looking for the boys. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard play off each other well and do make for a good on screen couple. And just like Tim and Lex in the original, you do come to care for the two kids in the film. And this film does seem to be taking The Avengers approach when it comes to its humor. This film does try to put in its own quick comedic Joss Whedon-esque beats into the film. Which is not a bad thing when your lead is Chris Pratt. He has great experience with comedic timing from his work on Guardians and Parks and Recreation. And for the most part, the humor does work. Sometimes it felt unneeded, but the good did outweigh the bad. So you have a bigger park, more dinosaurs, you have Chris Pratt, and a healthy dose of humor. All you need now is a killer third act and you have box office gold. Well it is a damn good thing they do, because the last part of the movie is one HELL of a ride! Well worth the price of admission alone! Not only does it involve a massive evacuation of the park and Chris Pratt riding a motorcycle alongside his velociraptors; but it also has a FANTASTIC final fight! Now in the previous films it has always been man versus dinosaur. NOW we get man and dinosaur vs dinosaur! That is really all I want to say about this final part of the film since I do not want to spoil the flick. I want you the reader to react like I did when I saw this movie. But seriously, THIS was why I saw this movie! A fantastic final payoff!
So was this movie needed? No. Was this movie good? Hell yeah! I had a lot of fun at the theater. Which is really all I ask for out of a Jurassic Park movie. Hand me a snack, let me grab a drink, and let me enjoy myself. I was able to do that with this movie, so I do approve. Sure it is no Jurassic Park, but it could have been SO much worse. Remind me to thank John for a lovely weekend!