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Year Of Release
2015
Director/s
Colin Trevorrow
Producer/s
Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley
Writer/s
Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly
And the late great Michael Crichton
Music
Michael Giacchino, John Williams
Cast
Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus, Brian Tee, Omar Sy with Irrfan Khan and BD Wong
Notes And Trivia
The movie contains numerous nods to the original movie/s, including a statue of Hammond (also as a nod to late actor Sir Attenborough), Dallas Howard’s wardrobe being almost completely white like Hammonds in JP, a book one of the characters is reading called “God Creates Dinosaurs” with an image of Ian Malcolm on the cover, the Gallimimus Stampede scene was filmed in the exact location as the one we say in JP, one of the original Jeeps from JP with the number 29, and the original Visitor Center where the first film ended to spectacularly.
After Stan Winston died, his employees started their own company called Legacy Effects. LE are responsible for the animatronics in Jurassic World. There is even a shop seen in the film called Winston’s, as a mark of respect to Stan.
“Indominus Rex” means “Fierce King” in Latin.
Chris Pratt actually spoof recorded a video online, a number of years ago, of him apparently getting a text from Steven Spielberg with an offer to do Jurassic Park 4. Pratt didn’t realise that a few years later he would actually get that opportunity.
The concept of using a Great White Shark to feed the Mosasaurus, was Trevorrow’s nod to Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws”.
Synopsis:
Jurassic World, built on the bones of the original failure that was Jurassic Park, has been enjoying huge success with visitors from across the Globe for years… but attendance numbers are declining and the shareholders, management and Ingen are worried.
So, being as immoral and money-oriented as they are, they cook up a classified experiment that will give the public something new to ogle, and have nightmares over… all in the name of $$.
Review:
Almost beautiful.
Some people had Star Wars when they were kids, later it was Independence Day and later still the kids had LOTR.
At 11 years old, my childhood was Jurassic Park.
The awe. The Spectacle. The Magnificence. The Mystery. Standing in that cinema lobby, with the JP music playing and the trailer on repeat on the screens dotted all over the place.
Jurassic World almost recaptures that, and with a modern twist of great CGI and improvements in animatronic technology.
For a start, it’s best to watch this movie with that inner-child switched firmly on… and not so much leave the brain at the door, but leave that adult side of the brain behind when the movie starts.
I’m not saying this is a kids’ movie, not by a long shot, but it’s better not to have the adult part of your brain that looks at logic and reasoning that can spoil a movie like Jurassic Park, and Jurassic World.
This movie has lashings of similar mentality from the Ingen suits that we saw in The Lost World, in that they simply only care about money and profits with total disregard to morality. The movie also has a number of nods to the original films too, and not just the occasional prop or statue of Hammond either. For instance, there’s an arc of sorts with Raptor intelligence which gives a genuinely organic believability to proceedings.
What’s also nice to see is that there are a few scenes which were considered but not filmed for JP and JP2 that gladly make their way into JW… for instance Pterosaurs vs a Helicopter (exciting scene if a little short lived)… and numerous parts from the book that were never even considered for the original movie and were just cut from the script.
This movie is very busy, but in a very good way, with little hints and nods to what we’ve seen before, original concepts from Crichton’s book/s, original concepts of its own, and loads of interesting characters who are actually pretty well written and acted for a movie that was originally called a “brainless actioner” by some (dumbass) critics.
Chris Pratt leads our cast as ex-Navy man and Raptor expert Owen Grady. He’s been brought in to train Raptors as an experiment to see if they can be domesticized… and if so, how far?
Pratt, well, let’s just say Pratt doesn’t carry this movie, and doesn’t have to. He’s a solid leading man, given a solid character to work with, and is surrounded by other solid actors and backups. Pratt is funny when needed though, especially when he’s given a little free reign, and carries the action and serious side of things perfectly.
Bryce Dallas Howard plays Claire Dearing, our leading Lady. She too holds it together like Pratt and has great chemistry with whoever she’s on screen with, especially Pratt. BDH is like a Female John Hammond in a way. She starts out cold and almost impersonal, and comes out of her shell as the movie goes on and eventually she becomes a Heroine amongst the shenanigans and backs up Pratt’s solid Hero brilliantly.
We also have a generic, but needed I guess, double act with Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson. They’re BDH’s Nephews, visiting the island for a week that end up alone in the jungle… with BDH and Pratt having to rescue them. They work together well though and Nick Robinson as the older Brother of the two has an arc of sorts from being a typical disinterested teen, to being a proper Big Brother for his little Bro.
Backup comes from Vincent D’Onofrio as an Ingen man-in-the-field who is a total slimeball,Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus as JW’s Control Room techies (Johnson is like a likeable Dennis Nedry) and Irrfan Khan is our centre of morality in a similar role to Bryce’s character Claire.
Khan in particular is brilliant too.
BD Wong, who we haven’t seen since JP, also shows up in a pivotal role… and isn’t quite as likeable as he was 23 years ago. he plays it well though.
The effects and action are mostly CG.
There is a massive chunk of practical effects though backing it up, and the choreography is tip top.
Some of the action is overloaded with too many Hero-Shots though… as if the movie was trying to make as many trailer moments as possible, but it doesn’t stop the movie from being exciting when the action gets going.
The brilliantly rendered CG and animatronics with the well pieced together choreography make up for that.
All in all, a ton better than JP2 and an incalculably massive improvement on the cartoon that was JP3.
Filled with hits of recognisable story arcs and traits we’re used to from the Jurassic Franchise, and upgraded to modern day audiences with the action and effects.
Exciting, scary at times, atmospheric, funny, nostalgic to an extent… but most importantly and oddly it feels fresh and, well, new.
My Rating: 89%
Review #244, Movie #315
Year Of Release
2015
Director/s
Colin Trevorrow
Producer/s
Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley
Writer/s
Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly
And the late great Michael Crichton
Music
Michael Giacchino, John Williams
Cast
Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus, Brian Tee, Omar Sy with Irrfan Khan and BD Wong
Notes And Trivia
The movie contains numerous nods to the original movie/s, including a statue of Hammond (also as a nod to late actor Sir Attenborough), Dallas Howard’s wardrobe being almost completely white like Hammonds in JP, a book one of the characters is reading called “God Creates Dinosaurs” with an image of Ian Malcolm on the cover, the Gallimimus Stampede scene was filmed in the exact location as the one we say in JP, one of the original Jeeps from JP with the number 29, and the original Visitor Center where the first film ended to spectacularly.
After Stan Winston died, his employees started their own company called Legacy Effects. LE are responsible for the animatronics in Jurassic World. There is even a shop seen in the film called Winston’s, as a mark of respect to Stan.
“Indominus Rex” means “Fierce King” in Latin.
Chris Pratt actually spoof recorded a video online, a number of years ago, of him apparently getting a text from Steven Spielberg with an offer to do Jurassic Park 4. Pratt didn’t realise that a few years later he would actually get that opportunity.
The concept of using a Great White Shark to feed the Mosasaurus, was Trevorrow’s nod to Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws”.
Jurassic World, built on the bones of the original failure that was Jurassic Park, has been enjoying huge success with visitors from across the Globe for years… but attendance numbers are declining and the shareholders, management and Ingen are worried.
So, being as immoral and money-oriented as they are, they cook up a classified experiment that will give the public something new to ogle, and have nightmares over… all in the name of $$.
Review:
Almost beautiful.
Some people had Star Wars when they were kids, later it was Independence Day and later still the kids had LOTR.
At 11 years old, my childhood was Jurassic Park.
The awe. The Spectacle. The Magnificence. The Mystery. Standing in that cinema lobby, with the JP music playing and the trailer on repeat on the screens dotted all over the place.
Jurassic World almost recaptures that, and with a modern twist of great CGI and improvements in animatronic technology.
For a start, it’s best to watch this movie with that inner-child switched firmly on… and not so much leave the brain at the door, but leave that adult side of the brain behind when the movie starts.
I’m not saying this is a kids’ movie, not by a long shot, but it’s better not to have the adult part of your brain that looks at logic and reasoning that can spoil a movie like Jurassic Park, and Jurassic World.
This movie has lashings of similar mentality from the Ingen suits that we saw in The Lost World, in that they simply only care about money and profits with total disregard to morality. The movie also has a number of nods to the original films too, and not just the occasional prop or statue of Hammond either. For instance, there’s an arc of sorts with Raptor intelligence which gives a genuinely organic believability to proceedings.
What’s also nice to see is that there are a few scenes which were considered but not filmed for JP and JP2 that gladly make their way into JW… for instance Pterosaurs vs a Helicopter (exciting scene if a little short lived)… and numerous parts from the book that were never even considered for the original movie and were just cut from the script.
This movie is very busy, but in a very good way, with little hints and nods to what we’ve seen before, original concepts from Crichton’s book/s, original concepts of its own, and loads of interesting characters who are actually pretty well written and acted for a movie that was originally called a “brainless actioner” by some (dumbass) critics.
Chris Pratt leads our cast as ex-Navy man and Raptor expert Owen Grady. He’s been brought in to train Raptors as an experiment to see if they can be domesticized… and if so, how far?
Pratt, well, let’s just say Pratt doesn’t carry this movie, and doesn’t have to. He’s a solid leading man, given a solid character to work with, and is surrounded by other solid actors and backups. Pratt is funny when needed though, especially when he’s given a little free reign, and carries the action and serious side of things perfectly.
Bryce Dallas Howard plays Claire Dearing, our leading Lady. She too holds it together like Pratt and has great chemistry with whoever she’s on screen with, especially Pratt. BDH is like a Female John Hammond in a way. She starts out cold and almost impersonal, and comes out of her shell as the movie goes on and eventually she becomes a Heroine amongst the shenanigans and backs up Pratt’s solid Hero brilliantly.
We also have a generic, but needed I guess, double act with Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson. They’re BDH’s Nephews, visiting the island for a week that end up alone in the jungle… with BDH and Pratt having to rescue them. They work together well though and Nick Robinson as the older Brother of the two has an arc of sorts from being a typical disinterested teen, to being a proper Big Brother for his little Bro.
Backup comes from Vincent D’Onofrio as an Ingen man-in-the-field who is a total slimeball,Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus as JW’s Control Room techies (Johnson is like a likeable Dennis Nedry) and Irrfan Khan is our centre of morality in a similar role to Bryce’s character Claire.
Khan in particular is brilliant too.
BD Wong, who we haven’t seen since JP, also shows up in a pivotal role… and isn’t quite as likeable as he was 23 years ago. he plays it well though.
The effects and action are mostly CG.
There is a massive chunk of practical effects though backing it up, and the choreography is tip top.
Some of the action is overloaded with too many Hero-Shots though… as if the movie was trying to make as many trailer moments as possible, but it doesn’t stop the movie from being exciting when the action gets going.
The brilliantly rendered CG and animatronics with the well pieced together choreography make up for that.
All in all, a ton better than JP2 and an incalculably massive improvement on the cartoon that was JP3.
Filled with hits of recognisable story arcs and traits we’re used to from the Jurassic Franchise, and upgraded to modern day audiences with the action and effects.
Exciting, scary at times, atmospheric, funny, nostalgic to an extent… but most importantly and oddly it feels fresh and, well, new.
My Rating: 89%
