A Wild Ride Full of Nostalgia
Dinosaurs have always been cool. Always. They will always be relevant, and the proof is in my eight going on nine year old brother who strives to be a paleontologist. While his career path may pan out differently, there are undoubtedly other kids out there who have the same feelings and passions for the beasts long gone of this world. Jurassic World brings them back to life, satisfying not only the young ones who love dinosaurs, but the kids in us that grew up with the original Jurassic Park as a staple in their list of favorite movies. This movie hits the right spots in reliving classic theater moments of awe and amazement.
It’s been 14 years since Jurassic Park 3’s release and 22 years since the events of the original, but in the movie and not much time is wasted on explaining what happened in that gap. What we do know is that the new park on Nublar Island, Jurassic World, is in need of some new exhibits. It is up and operational by the time viewers are introduced, and has been for some time. Though profiting, visitors are in decline. Claire, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, has some plans to get the park numbers back in accordance with her analytical needs. She is a micromanaging boss who sees everything, whether it is visitors as dinosaurs, as margins and assets. Her two nephews, Gray and Zach, are visiting the park and her while the formers parents work out some marital issues. These sub-lining plots familiarizes you with these three main characters to give viewers the emotional depth that was lined in the past Jurassic films, but the fun comes shortly after.
It’s been 14 years since Jurassic Park 3’s release and 22 years since the events of the original, but in the movie and not much time is wasted on explaining what happened in that gap. What we do know is that the new park on Nublar Island, Jurassic World, is in need of some new exhibits. It is up and operational by the time viewers are introduced, and has been for some time. Though profiting, visitors are in decline. Claire, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, has some plans to get the park numbers back in accordance with her analytical needs. She is a micromanaging boss who sees everything, whether it is visitors as dinosaurs, as margins and assets. Her two nephews, Gray and Zach, are visiting the park and her while the formers parents work out some marital issues. These sub-lining plots familiarizes you with these three main characters to give viewers the emotional depth that was lined in the past Jurassic films, but the fun comes shortly after.
The brothers travel all over the park, and give us the closet look at the different attractions it has to offer. From the metro line, gentle giants area, and even getting up close and personal with the Mosasaurus feeding show we get to see what is essentially a Seaworld/zoo on prehistoric steroids. It is very detailed and even has a website that parodies the park as a real life place. Behind the scenes, however, all is not so cheery and fun. Cue Chris Pratt as Owen, the ex-military turned raptor training powerhouse. At this point he has been working on training four raptors in the hopes of becoming their Alpha. While Claire and others do not respect the dinosaurs for what they are, he does and as such approaches this career differently. Hoskins, an InGen leader, also sees the creatures as an asset, but not for profit. Played by Vincent D’Onofrio (who also excellently portrays Kingpin in Netflix’s Daredevil) wants to militarize the raptors. That is nothing but red flags for Owen, and the two butt heads throughout.
Owen, being knowledgeable in the nature of dinosaurs, is called down to the new hybrids exhibit to give his take on the man created creature. He is against it before he even it sees it, and he does not get to see it until him and several others realize it is not where it should be. Predictably, this new Indominus Rex that was meant to invigorate the park has backfired. The new dino is awesome and terrifying in all the right ways, and to some accord represents the how the movie’s plot represents real life. In actuality a Jurassic Park 4 would have made money, just like the Jurassic World theme park, but it would not have thrived without a new attraction. So they made a new dinosaur, and the evil geniuses succeed. B.D. Wong returns as Dr. Henry Wu, and is the brains behind the Indominus Rex. I won’t spoil what the "Frankenstein" of dinosaurs is made out of, but she is well made that is for sure.
Owen, being knowledgeable in the nature of dinosaurs, is called down to the new hybrids exhibit to give his take on the man created creature. He is against it before he even it sees it, and he does not get to see it until him and several others realize it is not where it should be. Predictably, this new Indominus Rex that was meant to invigorate the park has backfired. The new dino is awesome and terrifying in all the right ways, and to some accord represents the how the movie’s plot represents real life. In actuality a Jurassic Park 4 would have made money, just like the Jurassic World theme park, but it would not have thrived without a new attraction. So they made a new dinosaur, and the evil geniuses succeed. B.D. Wong returns as Dr. Henry Wu, and is the brains behind the Indominus Rex. I won’t spoil what the "Frankenstein" of dinosaurs is made out of, but she is well made that is for sure.
The plot is mostly simplistic and carries the same set ups and outcomes as its predecessors, but it delivers. The length is damn near perfect, and it does not come up short nor does it over stay its welcome. CGI is top notch, from exhibits to the dinosaurs themselves, it makes you believe and halfway hope that someday the park will in fact be real. It is all about the details, and the film is chock full of them. The world of, well Jurassic World, is lush and full of life. Full of death too, but I digress. Sprawling jungles, various exhibits, souvenir shops and restaurants that are all tied to make this seem like a legitimate theme park and resort. The beautiful scenery and sometimes eerie settings are only made better by the impressive score. The sounds echo the movies past and are hauntingly lovely when paired with the film’s more tense moments. It is all in all a fun thrill ride of a movie.
Where it lets me down, however, is the fact that you actually do not see Pratt team up with his raptors as much as advertising implies. When you do, the scenes are great and well-choreographed. That and the concept that again, the story is pretty predictable. Fool me once dinosaurs, shame on you, fool everyone for three more sequels in a “what could go wrong” type scenario and the blame is clearly on us. As a whole I was satisfied with what it brought to the table, but it still left me feeling like I had room for dessert and something was missing. Regarding Chris Pratt though, he really steals the show more so than the Indominus. While supplying comedic effect in the best way possible, he also exhibits how good he is at playing serious roles as well. If Starlord was 70/30 on parts comedic to serious, Owen is 30/70 and played just as well. He is not just riding the coat tails of Guardians of the Galaxy, but becoming one of the biggest break out stars in Hollywood.
The movie is absolutely worth seeing. The simple plot will in no way deter the experience because it is simply a great summer flick. It is one of those rare movies that anyone can like. It has elements of every genre woven in, and offers material suitable for all ages. It has an extra dash of adult themes for those kids that sat in the theatres watching the original and now have the chance to take their own children to see the fantasy realized that is Jurassic World. It works in all the right ways, and the billion dollar question (since as of writing this Jurassic World is the now fastest movie to gross over a billion globally) is would you go to a park like this? Because even after seeing the horrors involved, I am fairly convinced that I certainly would. Do not miss your chance to see this in theatres that is what movies like this were made for. 8.5/10
By Edwin Velez
Like this review? Hate it? Let us know in the contact section on what you think, we are always looking for constructive criticism to make improvements on how we deliver content to you, the readers! Thanks as always for reading! -Player 2
IMDB and JurassicWorld.com were used as assets in the making of this review for plot details, cast, and pictures.
Where it lets me down, however, is the fact that you actually do not see Pratt team up with his raptors as much as advertising implies. When you do, the scenes are great and well-choreographed. That and the concept that again, the story is pretty predictable. Fool me once dinosaurs, shame on you, fool everyone for three more sequels in a “what could go wrong” type scenario and the blame is clearly on us. As a whole I was satisfied with what it brought to the table, but it still left me feeling like I had room for dessert and something was missing. Regarding Chris Pratt though, he really steals the show more so than the Indominus. While supplying comedic effect in the best way possible, he also exhibits how good he is at playing serious roles as well. If Starlord was 70/30 on parts comedic to serious, Owen is 30/70 and played just as well. He is not just riding the coat tails of Guardians of the Galaxy, but becoming one of the biggest break out stars in Hollywood.
The movie is absolutely worth seeing. The simple plot will in no way deter the experience because it is simply a great summer flick. It is one of those rare movies that anyone can like. It has elements of every genre woven in, and offers material suitable for all ages. It has an extra dash of adult themes for those kids that sat in the theatres watching the original and now have the chance to take their own children to see the fantasy realized that is Jurassic World. It works in all the right ways, and the billion dollar question (since as of writing this Jurassic World is the now fastest movie to gross over a billion globally) is would you go to a park like this? Because even after seeing the horrors involved, I am fairly convinced that I certainly would. Do not miss your chance to see this in theatres that is what movies like this were made for. 8.5/10
By Edwin Velez
Like this review? Hate it? Let us know in the contact section on what you think, we are always looking for constructive criticism to make improvements on how we deliver content to you, the readers! Thanks as always for reading! -Player 2
IMDB and JurassicWorld.com were used as assets in the making of this review for plot details, cast, and pictures.