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Wow. What a surprise.
When I first heard of a Jurassic Park sequel a while back, I was thinking "Why is this even necessary?", and I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking this. The constant sequels and reboots can be quite tiring these days since there are so many of them. But, I've been rather bored lately with this summer's releases, so I figured I might as well see Jurassic World. I liked the first 3 films well enough, and who doesn't want to see giant dinosaurs wreaking havoc for 2 hours? So, I went. And not only did Jurassic World meet my expectations, it far surpassed them.
Jurassic World takes place 22 years after the events of the first 3 films. The original park is almost a taboo, it's considered to be in bad taste to even speak of it in the film. Now, the island has taken in a much larger crowd of people, rather than just a select few like the first 3 films. Now, it is a theme park. Thousands of people at a time. They really captured the theme park feeling in this film. It feels like a real place and a legitimate theme park. Anybody who has been to a large theme park can relate, and it all feels very realistic. But, in recent years, theme park attendance numbers have been dropping. The people are tired of seeing the same dinosaurs over and over again. So, they create a new dinosaur. And of course, mayhem ensues. I don't want to give away too much, it's better to experience the thrills without knowing what's going to happen. So that's all I'll say about that.
The characters in Jurassic World are good, especially Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard). Claire specifically stands out because she changes a lot during the course of the film. She makes many important decisions that effect the story, and you can tell sometimes that she's in conflict with herself about what to do. It works very well, and Bryce Dallas Howard did a great job with it too.
Next is Chris Pratt's character, Owen. I don't want to give away too much about his character, but let's just say that he's badass. He's a great hero to root for, and in this role Chris Pratt proves that he can deliver in comedy, drama, and action. Pratt reminded me of John Mclane in this film, and it makes me wonder, could Chris Pratt pull off a Die Hard reboot?
Ty Simpkins plays Gray, the younger of the two brothers in the film. Simpkins did a good job, especially since he's a child actor, but he never particularly blew me away, and neither did his character.
Nick Robinson plays Zach, the older sibling of Gray. This character felt like a total mess to me. For a good half of the film, this character was not likable at all. For some reason the filmmakers wanted him to be despicable for a lot of the movie, but I think they took it too far. They went so far into making him unlikable in the first half,that when they revealed his redeemable qualities it felt forced and unrealistic. The actor who played Zach did fine, I just didn't like his character.
Vincent D'Onofrio plays a cartoony villain named Hoskins. This character was a lot of fun, and D'Onofrio did a great job with it. It's always fun to root against a villain like this.
Jurassic World is a great addition to the other 3 films, but there's one thing that it lacks: the sense of isolation. In the first 3 films, there was a great sense of isolation on the island, and that's what made them so scary. It was always a small amount of people on the island, and it brought the suspense and tension to an all time high. Jurassic World certainly isn't as scary as the old films, but it is much more thrilling. You would think that sacrificing suspense for action would be a bad idea, but it actually works. Seeing the large scale mayhem on the big screen is great, and the dinosaurs look better than ever. I was completely satisfied by the time the movie was over. Jurassic World is full of delightful surprises. You'll laugh, you'll gasp, and you will have a great time. I know I did. It has a few flaws, but those are pretty easy to overlook when you're having this much fun.
Wow. What a surprise.
When I first heard of a Jurassic Park sequel a while back, I was thinking "Why is this even necessary?", and I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking this. The constant sequels and reboots can be quite tiring these days since there are so many of them. But, I've been rather bored lately with this summer's releases, so I figured I might as well see Jurassic World. I liked the first 3 films well enough, and who doesn't want to see giant dinosaurs wreaking havoc for 2 hours? So, I went. And not only did Jurassic World meet my expectations, it far surpassed them.
Jurassic World takes place 22 years after the events of the first 3 films. The original park is almost a taboo, it's considered to be in bad taste to even speak of it in the film. Now, the island has taken in a much larger crowd of people, rather than just a select few like the first 3 films. Now, it is a theme park. Thousands of people at a time. They really captured the theme park feeling in this film. It feels like a real place and a legitimate theme park. Anybody who has been to a large theme park can relate, and it all feels very realistic. But, in recent years, theme park attendance numbers have been dropping. The people are tired of seeing the same dinosaurs over and over again. So, they create a new dinosaur. And of course, mayhem ensues. I don't want to give away too much, it's better to experience the thrills without knowing what's going to happen. So that's all I'll say about that.
The characters in Jurassic World are good, especially Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard). Claire specifically stands out because she changes a lot during the course of the film. She makes many important decisions that effect the story, and you can tell sometimes that she's in conflict with herself about what to do. It works very well, and Bryce Dallas Howard did a great job with it too.
Next is Chris Pratt's character, Owen. I don't want to give away too much about his character, but let's just say that he's badass. He's a great hero to root for, and in this role Chris Pratt proves that he can deliver in comedy, drama, and action. Pratt reminded me of John Mclane in this film, and it makes me wonder, could Chris Pratt pull off a Die Hard reboot?
Ty Simpkins plays Gray, the younger of the two brothers in the film. Simpkins did a good job, especially since he's a child actor, but he never particularly blew me away, and neither did his character.
Nick Robinson plays Zach, the older sibling of Gray. This character felt like a total mess to me. For a good half of the film, this character was not likable at all. For some reason the filmmakers wanted him to be despicable for a lot of the movie, but I think they took it too far. They went so far into making him unlikable in the first half,that when they revealed his redeemable qualities it felt forced and unrealistic. The actor who played Zach did fine, I just didn't like his character.
Vincent D'Onofrio plays a cartoony villain named Hoskins. This character was a lot of fun, and D'Onofrio did a great job with it. It's always fun to root against a villain like this.
Jurassic World is a great addition to the other 3 films, but there's one thing that it lacks: the sense of isolation. In the first 3 films, there was a great sense of isolation on the island, and that's what made them so scary. It was always a small amount of people on the island, and it brought the suspense and tension to an all time high. Jurassic World certainly isn't as scary as the old films, but it is much more thrilling. You would think that sacrificing suspense for action would be a bad idea, but it actually works. Seeing the large scale mayhem on the big screen is great, and the dinosaurs look better than ever. I was completely satisfied by the time the movie was over. Jurassic World is full of delightful surprises. You'll laugh, you'll gasp, and you will have a great time. I know I did. It has a few flaws, but those are pretty easy to overlook when you're having this much fun.