'Jurassic World' Review

Jurassic World Review:

Hold On To Your Butts

BY IAN TAN

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was an instant classic and an achievement in cinema back when it came out in 1993. Not only did it give audiences a glimpse of photo-realistic dinosaurs through breakthrough visual effects and animatronics, it also reminded audiences of the power of the silver screen and its ability to evoke magic, awe and wonder. And John Williams’ unforgettable score for the film only added to that movie magic. Flash forward two decades later and we have Jurassic World, a sequel that could either make or break the franchise.

After seeing his franchise beaten and battered in 2001’s Jurassic Park III, Steven Spielberg probably never thought of returning to the franchise again. Thankfully, he serves as executive producer on this film with director Colin Trevorrow in his first attempt at a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster sequel/reboot. It sounds like quite the risk for Universal Pictures to hire a director whose last film was titled Safety Not Guaranteed, but Trevorrow delivers the goods in this worthy sequel to Steven Spielberg’s original classic. Forget The Lost World and Jurassic Park III.

 

What are they looking at? :/

The plot of Jurassic World is simple enough: the owners of the now world-famous Jurassic World theme park decide to create a hybrid dinosaur -the Indominus Rex - in order to attract more visitors without batting an eye on the possibility of said dinosaur going rogue and putting the park, and its visitors, in mortal danger. Of course, the Indominus Rex ultimately goes rogue and puts the park, and its people, in mortal danger, and it's up to Chris Pratt and his posse of velociraptor buddies to save the day. It’s not a superb plot; it’s actually quite a generic one as far as monster movies go, but in Trevorrow’s hands, he executes it with enough thrills and spectacle that’s enough to distract from the not-so-original story.

The characters in World, although not as interesting or as memorable as those in Park, are charming and likable in their own way. Chris Pratt plays a subtler but more commanding version of his Star-Lord character from last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy that immediately makes you want to take his side, literally and figuratively. He’s a solid action star, and I think everyone can agree that he’s going to be a great Indiana Jones after seeing him in this movie. In the first quarter of the film, Bryce Dallas Howard’s character almost borders along the annoying, but thanks to a well-balanced performance and a naturally flowing character arc, her character didn’t seem too bad after all. She could have easily been sidelined to damsel-in-distress status toward the latter half of the movie, and it’s great that the filmmakers opted not to do so and instead allowed her character to feel relevant and useful in the film’s final act. Child actors Ty Simpkins (Insidious, Iron Man 3) and Nick Robinson act believably enough as well and add to the Spielberg-esque child-like magic of the film. Ty Simpkins, who plays the younger brother, is especially likeable. 

That smile

Now let’s get to the good stuff: the theme park itself. Boy oh boy, do I wish Jurassic World existed for real. The theme park seen in the film is incredibly well realised, with attractions that combine the best of Universal Studios and Sea World, with dinosaurs. Dr. Hammond would be oh, so proud. They really spared no expense. Several nods to the first film are sprinkled here and there and will definitely please fans. No Jeff Goldblum or Sam Neill cameo to be found here though, unfortunately.

Feeding Time

The dinosaurs themselves are awesome to look at, and Jurassic World makes the best use of the franchise’s infamous velociraptors. They have more personality now than ever, with the help of some motion-capture technology. However, considering that it’s been 22 years since the first Jurassic Park, the visual effects and CGI haven’t seemed to improve much in my opinion. In fact, I think some of it looked better in 1993. The look of the raptors now seem less convincing than they did back then, probably due to the fact that the dinosaurs in this film are required to do things on a more physically demanding scale than they have before. There was really only one scene I noticed where an actual animatronic dinosaur was used, and that scene felt the most realistic because the actors were acting with a practical prop, not a green stick that would soon be digitally replaced with a dinosaur. Speaking of dinosaurs, Jurassic World‘s main attraction - the Indominus Rex – is quite terrifying. I wish they showed a little more of it though, to have a proper look at the creature in all its glory ala the final T-Rex shot in the first Jurassic Park.

"Dance off, me and you."

As expected, no scene in this movie compares with the intense kitchen scene in the original. There are attempts at recreating that same level of suspense, but it rarely gets your heart racing as much as it did in the first film. The film’s climax however, was PERFECT. It was the most crowd-pleasing moment I’ve ever witnessed in a cinema. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that the final action set piece will make you disregard whatever flaws you might have had with the film, given that you are already a Jurassic Park fan. It brought back that same sense of Spielbergian magic from the 1993 film and was just the ultimate fan-service climax the franchise deserves. Plus, with all its visual glory and sense of scale, I can’t justify seeing this movie in any other format than IMAX. (Edited: Okay, D-Box would be pretty awesome as well). 

Mercedes Benz in the back

Dinosaurs aside, this film is filled with product placement. It probably has the most of any movie this year. Chris Pratt drinks a nice glass of Coke. All vehicles - cars, trucks, and motorbikes – are products of Mercedes Benz. Everyone uses a Samsung smartphone. Samsung’s new Ultra-HD curved TVs even make a three-second cameo in the park’s very own Samsung-sponsored tech hub. Just saying.

Overall, Jurassic World is an entertaining sequel that pays homage to its original film and adds even more to the franchise’s world. For fans of the original Jurassic Park, this movie will make you feel like a little kid again. For newcomers, it’ll wow you for its spectacle alone, and may make you want to see the first Jurassic Park to know how it all started. This movie’s up there with Mad Max: Fury Road as one of my favourite films of the summer.

Final Verdict

Jurassic World gets 8.7 out of 10 stars – That was 22 years worth waiting for.