Jurassic World
Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Written by: Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, Judy Greer, Irrfan Khan, Katie McGrath
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Thriller - 124 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 10 June 2015
Written by: Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, Judy Greer, Irrfan Khan, Katie McGrath
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Thriller - 124 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 10 June 2015
There are more than a few nods and winks to the original 1993 Jurassic Park in Jurassic World. There are no remarks or asides about the other two sequels in between; they are forgotten by everyone in the film and in the audience. A sequel through and through, Jurassic World firmly feels like a reboot however. The narrative feels identical to Jurassic Park with awe struck outsiders brought onto the remote Costa Rican island, a lizard jailbreak, and all hell breaking loose. There is a fresh pair of frightened kids, a new face for the swashbuckling hero, and shady businessmen with ulterior motives. Even though these are new dinosaur species, everything is just about the same; just that much less exciting since all of this has been done better before. Jurassic World will still grip you, assault your visual and aural senses, and may even scare you, but it will not amaze you. For those of us who remember the original experience 22 years ago, you will feel the difference.
The mad scientists in the lab were told to stretch the dino DNA as far as it would go; perhaps they added a bit too much spice. A newly created über-dinosaur species, wryly named “Indominus Rex”, is a straight rip-off from 1999’s Deep Blue Sea. In that aquatic nightmare, mad scientists engineered the ultimate shark able to plan, swim backwards, and tear apart an entire foundation. Throwing out any and all lessons learned about playing God from the previous Jurassics, the new humans have their theme park up and running and choose to mitigate all the risks by building the cage walls higher and maintaining a ready armed militia should containment fail.
The mad scientists in the lab were told to stretch the dino DNA as far as it would go; perhaps they added a bit too much spice. A newly created über-dinosaur species, wryly named “Indominus Rex”, is a straight rip-off from 1999’s Deep Blue Sea. In that aquatic nightmare, mad scientists engineered the ultimate shark able to plan, swim backwards, and tear apart an entire foundation. Throwing out any and all lessons learned about playing God from the previous Jurassics, the new humans have their theme park up and running and choose to mitigate all the risks by building the cage walls higher and maintaining a ready armed militia should containment fail.
In charge of day-to-day theme park operations is Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard, 2011’s 50/50), who considers the dinosaurs part of asset management and will overlook the shadier sides of the parks R&D sector if it helps increase next quarter’s profit margin. Claire’s two nephews bop into town for some family time, a situation Claire is ill equipped to manage. Taking the place of the two kids we remember so clearly from the first film, they are a bit older, but none the wiser. Nothing says dinosaur terror like putting youngsters in their carnivorous path. Sullen 16-year-old Zach and pre-teen Gray (Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins, 2013’s Iron Man 3) play scared just fine and maneuver around the Indominous Rex, velociraptors, and pterodactyls with effective creativity.
The new leading man is Owen (Chris Pratt, 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy), a dinosaur wrangler in charge of training the velociraptor herd, if such a thing can be accomplished. Sort of reminds me of Thomas Jane’s shark wrangler from Deep Blue Sea. Owen warns Claire, his way too devious and militant boss Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio, 2015’s Run All Night), his barber, and the cafeteria janitors we all must respect and fear nature and never meddle with it. Why Owen would find himself training the newly unextinct does not quite fit his down to earth ethos. However, if you suddenly find yourself staring down the snout of a lizard with dozens of jagged teeth and an eardrum-splitting roar, you will gladly stand right behind Owen.
While only the names of the characters have changed and the park’s pets are more diverse and numerous, I could not help noticing how everything else is the same. Cinematographer John Schwartzman (2013’s Saving Mr. Banks) sets up the exact same shots we all have inscribed into our memories. When the humans hide by a car or around a wall, we all know the ‘snout creep’ shot is coming. The dinosaur’s muzzle and nostrils will slowly ooze right up next to the endangered people whereby he will either sniff them out or move on. Sure, this tried and true trick still creates the tension it aims for, but it’s now more pandering than homage. The kids get stuck in a vehicle while the creature tears at them from above. Remind you of anything? We see the same locales again, the open field with a sprinting herd and the creek the herbivores drink from, this time with theme park rides in the midst of them.
Christian Slater’s Hard Harry said it best in 1990’s Pump Up the Volume, “All the great themes have been used up and turned into theme parks.” Does Universal see the hypocrisy here? They just made a film about how vacuous and corrupt theme parks are. Universal Studios! Irony just had a heart attack. After watching thousands of people lick their ice cream cones, shuffle along in endless queues, and purchase obligatory overpriced mementos, your Jiminy Cricket will let you off the hook a bit if you start rooting for the dinosaurs to thin out the human herd.
Director Colin Trevorrow, whose only other feature film credit is 2012’s Safety Not Guaranteed, made a better sequel than 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 2001’s Jurassic Park III. Spielberg directed The Lost World by the way. Witnessing what happens when a beloved cinematic experience is forced into franchise mode because of the ungodly amounts of money to be raked in makes me relieved there was no E.T. 2: The Return. At least E.T. only plugged Reese’s Pieces. Jurassic World wants you to buy Beats headphones, Samsung products, Verizon products, and those are only the ones I bothered to write down. No wonder the Indominus Rex is so pissed off; it’s been commercialized and got cut out of any back end deal. Go get ‘em Indominus.
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