THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE!
Jurassic Park was the epitome of the summer blockbuster. It was big, it was loud, and it made a sh!t ton of money. So naturally, the sequel would one up that. And that it did. Not only was it bigger and louder, it also over compensated and roared (get ready for puns) to the biggest global box office opening of all time. Fitting seeing as its predecessor was the highest grossing movie of all time at the time of its release.
However, other than in terms of money, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. This is inherently the problem with Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow wanted everything to seem more epic. Granted, the park is open, which grants him the right to make everything more epic. But the grandeur of the movie isn’t the only thing that held it back from being great. There was a blurred vision that came with it too. It felt like Trevorrow wanted the film to be a comedy. Which probably isn’t surprising considering his only other directorial credit is a comedy.
Despite the fact that his very modest comedy was miles off from the scale of Jurassic World, he was still able to realize a grand vision. Jurassic World, the actual park, is gorgeously created as a Disney-like theme park with attractions, stores, a tram, but instead of Shamu they have a giant Mesosaurus that would eat Shamu.
History was changed a bit with this film. Trevorrow rightfully ignored the second and third movies in the franchise and created a world in which Jurassic World was a new attempt at bringing dinosaurs to the public. At this point in time the park has been open for 25 years and is actually doing well. However, when you make money you always want to be making more. Simon Masrani (Irfan Khan), who inherited the park personally from John Hammond, urges the scientists at Jurassic World to give the visitors something “bigger, louder, [with] more teeth” as Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) says. Claire, a loyal corporate employee of the park, oversees all operations and spearheads the (bigger, louder, with more teeth) Indominus Rex, presented by Verizon Wireless. A fearsome mix of traits that make it the perfect predator. It’s what we’re supposed to fear, like the Raptors and T-Rex in the original.
Apparently when the second and third movies were forgotten so was the outcome of the first. Stop messing with nature people!
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Following the natural order of things, it escapes and wreaks havoc on the park. However, this time the stakes are higher with over 20,000 people at risk. This makes for some incredible sequences including the Pterodactyl attack that’s shown in the trailer. That scene in particular is a great way to talk about my theory of the film. Instead of being a sequel to the original, I feel like the film is actually an homage to it, while also satirizing the modern day blockbuster. Every character feels like an archetype of one that you’d find in any other summer movie, but is rooted in a Jurassic Park character.
Chris Pratt is the hero role that Dr. Alan Grant once played, who understands and sees the dinosaurs as Animals rather than “assets,” as Claire says. The kids, as usual, help forward the plot by going missing. However, this time we have a girl-obsessed teen (Nick Robinson) and dino-obsessed little brother (Ty Simpkins). Claire is more helpless than Ellie in the original, however she instead inherits the “terrible with kids” trait that Grant had.
Pratt proves he is not just a one-hit wonder and continues his transformation into the matinee star that started with last summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy. His Indiana Jones epic action hero persona may not be the most inspired, but his charm is able to carry him past the stereotype to turn him into the a worthy leading man. Bryce Dallas Howard’s character goes through the biggest character arc in the film (which is not saying much) and though her material doesn’t give her much depth, she makes the most of what she is given.
Though the original film had a similar characterization problem, it made up for it with thrilling sequences like the now iconic T-Rex attack and the Raptor kitchen scene. Unfortunately, we don’t get any of those epic scenes in this film. Yes, there are some gorgeously filmed action sequences, but none of them strike the same fear or anxiety that those aforementioned scenes did. Part of this stems from the fact that the majority of the action stays away from the main part of the park itself. Instead, each of the scenes involving the Indominus happens in isolation, which seemed like an odd choice.
Despite my view of the film as a satire, there are a few storylines that bogged down an otherwise quick fire film. The beauty of the original is that you care for the kids simply because Alan doesn’t. They’re really not fleshed out characters, but rather used as a plot device to get Alan into the park to protect them and to develop his character. While the same is done in this film with Claire, the screenwriters made a half-assed attempt humanize the kids with a divorce subplot. I would have no problem with that, but they mentioned it once directly and indirectly in a scene with Judy Greer. Then, it’s never mentioned again and no implications are discussed, they literally act like the scene never happened.
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The other storyline that really could have been at least streamlined was the plot involving Dennis Nedr- I mean, Vic Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrino). He spends most of the story trying to convince Chris Pratt to let him use the Raptors in war combat. While part of his storyline does become a pretty major point in the film, they didn’t have to meander on him for as much time as they did.
As expected with a sequel produced years after the original, it’s rampant with references to the first film that are both fun and strong for the continuation of the series. Although, some of this feels more recycled than anything. In particular, John Williams’ iconic score sometimes feels cheap and lacks the magic it did when you first saw the expanse of the original park. Even the dinosaurs lack that magic. Not because “no one’s impressed by a dinosaur anymore” as the film points out, but because the heavy CGI is no where near as innovative or impressive as the puppetry in the original. That being said, you’ll leave the theater satisfied. If not for the film as whole, at least for the climactic final scene that is everything you wanted out of this movie. We wanted a popcorn flick that we can escape with, and that’s what we got.
