US$1.2 billion later and I am finally doing a review of Jurassic World. So I’ll just keep it
short. This film is a genuine crowd pleaser and all credit must go to Stephen
Spielberg who began the series with Jurassic
Park (1993). The foundations laid by that film are ever present in this up
to date version. Jurassic World is a very good film when you compare it to the sequels. It is not as good because there are not enough original moments. What
we have here are ghosts from the past or timely reminders of where it all
began. Jurassic World does find a
way to create it’s own niche and makes the series stay relevant after 2
decades. The success of Jurassic World
is in contrast to the previous 2 sequels to Jurassic Park that more or less
dwelt on decay and decline.
The film stars Chris Pratt as Owen Morgan and Bryce Dallas
Howard as Claire Darling who have to grapple with a new form of dinosaur on the loose in Jurassic World which is a very popular theme park for obvious reasons.
Positives
The primary positive for me is that this film is a genuine
crowd pleaser. I wached it in a packed house and the crowd cheered several
times and there were many gasps, and moments of anxiety. From that perspective
the film has done its job. Obviously you can see beyond the CGI but it does
seem seamless. The best action moments involved the dinosaurs themselves and it
was the cause for some really big moments on screen. When the T-Rex was
unleashed it was a great moment. The T-Rex being the main antagonist in the
original Jurassic Park is brought
back in all his glory. The crowd
responded accordingly. The popularity of the T-Rex still outshines the new form
of dinosaur created by the scientists at Jurassic world. The genetically
altered creature is well explained and makes for some interesting turns in the film's thin plot. The mystery of this new form of dinosaur carries this film a
long way.
I also liked how this film brought back ghosts of the past
or, if you prefer, reminders from the past. The most important lesson that should have been learned from Jurassic
Park is how tricky it is to manipulate nature to suit the needs of humans. In this
case the visitors are treated to interacting with the great reptiles that have
been extinct for some millions of years while the owner and managers of the park
watch the profit rate. Claire, the manager of the park, clearly crunches
numbers only as for her it’s just a business. Owen seems to be more in tune
with dinosaurs as thinking and feeling animals instead of seeing profit
margins. The genetically altered
dinosaur was created to add another wow factor in order to increase the profit
rate. It makes sense why they would want to do it from that perspective and Owen’s
perspective makes sense when you consider that it is dangerous to do so. It’s
the typical street smarts perspective of Owen vs. the primarily theoretical and
principled Claire. How they come together is interesting to some degree.
I also liked how this film tried to emerge out of the shadow
of Jurassic Park and its two spin
offs. The main difference between Jurassic
World and the original Jurassic
Park is that in the latter the park never got off the ground. The original Jurassic Park never went beyond the pilot stage whereas in Jurassic
World the theme park is fully functioning and is attractive to investors
and consumers. The two spin offs of Jurassic Park were not as successful because they dealt primarily
with the left overs from the events of Jurassic
Park. In those two sequels it was always about going back to the ruins of
the defunct park. The dinosaurs took over the defunct park and were running wild so it was primarily
about how those that returned tried to salvage something from the park. The sequels couldn’t add much when the primary
issue was about the decay and decline of
the original Jurassic park. Jurassic
World is like a rebranding exercise.
There are still reminders of Jurassic
Park but it is clear that it is long gone. Jurassic world as a theme park
is more successful because there are not much recorded fatal incidents
involving the consumers. There are some
references to members of staff who did die on the job, however, which is no
surprise. Jurassic World does stand
on its own although some elements from Jurassic
Park do resurface. The credit should go to the significant impact of the
original Jurassic Park directed by
the legendary Spielberg.
There was some attempt at character development particularly
the relationship between the two brothers whose family is about to break up as
a result of an impending divorce.
As a dinosaur lover it’s good to see that these ancient
giants are still fascinating to contemporary audiences. A reminder of the earth’s
great natural history.
Things do fall apart.
Negatives
The primary negative of this film is that it appears as a
mere rebranding exercise for the original Jurassic
Park. This becomes obvious with so many ghosts from the past. The story
line and the characters have many similarities with the original Jurassic Park. Looking forward to the film where the
dinosaurs actually go beyond Costa Rican shores. Looking forward to a Jurassic
World film where the dinosaurs actually permeate the jungles throughout the
world. So far all these films about Jurassic Park and now Jurassic World are limited in scope. Limited
to theme parks. The only difference here is that Jurassic World is a fully
functioning park with annual and quarterly turnovers like Six Flags. The update
in tracking technology has certainly helped.
This rebranding exercise makes it into a film that’s just
like a theme park ride. You are thrilled once you’re in the ride but you can’t
take it with you. There are clearly a lot of moments that are designed to
thrill although if you watch enough movies you know all the tricks with films
such as this. No they will not kill the star characters. That is pretty
obvious. They will be threatened but we all know that nothing major will happen
to them.
It’s still a good film I didn’t regret watching it at least.
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