Jurassic World Review

Jurassic World is the fourth film in the Jurassic Park franchise. This time it is directed by Colin Trevorrow, and stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. The basic premise is that  Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and visitor rates declining, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitor's interest, which backfires horribly.

Jurassic Park is a film that for me has always defined what movie magic is. I saw it when I was about 3 or 4 years old, and it really made me believe that dinosaurs were real. Going into this film I knew that it wouldn't capture the same feeling the original one had, and I love the fact that the premise of the film reflects that. People aren't impressed with dinosaurs anymore since they've already seen them. They want something new, so a new dinosaur is created. It is sort of how us as an audience won't be impressed with seeing dinosaurs on a film like when the original one came out. With that in mind though I can say that this is the best sequel to Jurassic Park yet. Chris Pratt proves that he really is a star, and actually plays a much different character than what he usually does. He can actually do a pretty serious role without really relying on jokes and comedy. Bryce Dallas Howard plays a corporate figure from the park. She does start off kind of stiff but her character really does change by the end of the film.

One thing I do have to say about the movie is that there is a lot going on at once. You have the main plot which follows Pratt and Howard chasing the I-Rex. Then there is a subplot that follows two kids who are Howards' character nephews. There is also another subplot that follows Vincent D'Onofrio who plays a character who wants to weaponise the dinosaurs. I wish the film would have focused more on the main story, since it did switch focus a lot. In the final act though everything does fall into place. An element that really surprised me were the raptors. In the trailer they are shown to follow orders, which seemed kind of odd, but it really works extremely well. It was actually one of the strongest points of the movie. The film also goes back to the main themes of the original movie, with the fact that nature can not be controlled. I think that the theme might actually be more emphasized in this one than in the first one, but it never tries to shove it down your throat.  

The visual effects were very well done, and I liked the fact that there are some animatronics thrown in here too. The film does have a lot of nods to the first one, and even goes as far as to having some really similar shots and scenes. The biggest compliment I can give the film though is the amount of fun I had with it. From start to finish I was entertained, and loved being brought back to the world that made me love movies since I was young. It's not better than the first one, but it never really was going to be, and that is absolutely fine with me. 4/5