Original article on CultNoise: http://www.cultnoise.com/jurassic-world-a-fun-filled-dino-romp/
Over twenty years ago, the original Jurassic Park astounded
audiences everywhere with its breath-taking dinosaurs. But the sense of wonder
the film brought in 1993 couldn’t strike again with its subsequent sequels. The
series finally returns with Jurassic World; a film which, for the most part
serves as an enjoyable update to a long-dormant blockbuster.
Jurassic World ignores the events of the second and third
entries in the series and uses the original 1993 film as its main narrative
springboard. Twenty two years after the Isla Nublar incident, the park is
finally open with scores of visitors, tourists and celebrities visiting every
year. But the dinosaurs seen in past films are no longer enough to keep the
money flowing and the officials of the park, led by Claire Dearing (Bryce
Dallas Howard) decide to create a genetic hybrid by splicing several dinosaur
DNA strand together. The result is Indominus Rex; a super-intelligent Tyrannosaur
more dangerous than all the other animals in the park put together. Following a
few character introductions, (Most notably velociraptor expert Owen Grady
played by Chris Pratt) the film unfolds from all over the park, swapping
perspectives between the characters before it they all eventually come together
for the film’s second half. Taking steps into genetic modification was a good
move on Jurassic World’s part; taking the time to play about with both biology
and palaeontology spices up the familiar formula, allowing the action to have
much more impact and unpredictability. With this in mind, the film also veers
off of common theories of palaeontology in favour of more action-packed
scenarios which are sure to thrill any common film-goer.
We’ve already been wowed by the by the dinosaurs in the
original film, so Jurassic World chooses to focus some of its efforts into the
park itself; it’s definitely a sight to behold with all sorts of interesting
technology drawing the viewer in. Unfortunately the plot of Jurassic World
isn’t without its flaws. Modern clichés such as family dilemmas and forced
romance sub-plots do creep in, distracting from the main attraction at many
points. There’s also a fair degree of senselessness which the original film didn’t
suffer from, be it dinosaurs popping out of nowhere or sending an untrained
helicopter pilot to hunt down a deadly dinosaur. If Jurassic World maintained a
greater plausibility, the plot could have been much more engaging.
The weakest area of Jurassic World though is its characters;
a lot of them just aren’t very interesting or developed. The exceptions to this
are the lead actors; Chris Pratt once again proves that he’s more than capable
of handling roles in blockbuster films. The man is just plain likeable in every
role I’ve seen him play so far, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him make
his way into other popular film franchises in the future. Bryce Dallas Howard
is also quite good as Claire, who delivers equal parts comic relief and
desperate urgency throughout the film. Sadly, the same praises cannot be sang
for the side characters; Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins try to make the best of
the material they’re given, but as child characters they really don’t do
anything to distinguish themselves from the others seen in the series. The
black sheep of the cast is Vincent D’Onofrio; as a human antagonist, his
militaristic motives are painfully forced and it’s a real shame to see the
scientific themes from previous films be shoved aside in this fashion. Because
of this, Dr Henry Wu (B.D. Wong), the only returning actor from the original
film is wasted and really doesn’t have much to do over the course of the film
other than spout a bit of scientific talk here and there. It’s a shame that the
characters of Jurassic World can’t hold up, given how clever and engaging they
were in the 1993 film; instead they fill their respective roles and little
more.
With the gradual reduction in the use of practical effects
over the years, Jurassic World makes use of full computer generated imagery as
opposed to the animatronics used previously. The burning question is of course,
how good do the dinosaurs look? Quite good in fact; the creatures are all
really detailed and maintain the look they had in the previous films. The skin
and scales on the creatures both boast some solid texturing and the way they
move and interact is far more varied, thanks to the tricks of modern animation.
The signature dinosaur roars are all there and accounted for and they continue
to thrill just as much as they did before. The music also makes an impact,
rising with the action as the danger heats up in the park, whilst the
cinematography always give a full and complete view of the animals on-screen.
Jurassic World’s presentation ultimately does exactly what you’d hope for;
maintain the style of the previous films whilst updating and modernising it for
a modern audience.
Jurassic World is a huge amount of fun and if you liked the
first few films like I did then you’ll be happy to see dinosaurs making their
long-awaited return to the big screen. With that said, it does come up quite
short in areas which the original film did a much better job with; namely
character development and thoughtful themes.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
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