Jurassic World is here and I'm sure it will be pounded on all it's scientific inaccuracies, but this review is based solely on the story that we were presented with. While I would like to get super deep and talk every possible scenario and what I would like to have seen done different, it's just a movie. So on that note, Paleontologists, shut up.
Before we jump into the film I just want to say, it was an awesome ride. Jurassic World is chocked full of Dinos, action, and FX that is sure to please the current movie crowd. Now if that is all you want out of this sequel go see it a.s.a.p., but if you're looking for a good story you might want to hold off...
The cinematography is excellent and the score is so beautiful it will make you weep, but all of that and more doesn't make up for a sub-par story. Sure it's better than Lost World, but was it really that hard to make a film better than part two? No. The story this go around doesn't come close to the original or part three for that matter and the reason is one that should have been top priority before filming began.
Now I'm not sure how to phrase this, so hopefully you get the gist of my dribble, but the story seemed very bland with no real sense of imminent danger. The plot of the hybrid escaping and causing chaos was cool, yet the reasoning and our two main characters arcs didn't seem very fleshed out. That's not even counting the poorly written and delivered dialogue by the two children ("We need more teeth"). The 'children in danger' angle has been beat to death and I suspect that's why they didn't lean too heavy on that trope for this installment, but I expected better backstory and development on our hero Chris Pratt.
I really hold the writers and director responsible for the lackluster story. Yea you gave me a pretty shinny bell, but why can't it have a nice ring also? That's what Jurassic World is, a platinum bell encrusted with diamonds, but rings like a Dollar Store junker. Maybe I'm holding it to too high a standard? I enjoyed the Indominus Rex, loved the score, accepted the plot, loved the Jurassic Park throwbacks, but the overall story just could have been so much more. The one saving grace is B.D. Wong returning as Dr. Henry Wu.
Let me sum up my ramblings like this. Jurassic World has none of the build-up that made the first film an edge of your seat thriller. It's far more hollow with complaints about the military-industrial complex and a set of characters that, outside of Chris Pratt’s Owen, aren’t likable. Rather than return to the qualities of what made the first film so successful, they just doubled down on overly used CGI. Jurassic World is still an enjoyable movie, but if you go in with the expectations and hopes for a story with "bite" you’ll be very disappointed.
Rating: 7/10 Stars
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To give the rating some context, see below:
Jurassic Park: 10/10 Stars
The Lost World: 6/10 Stars
Jurassic Park 3: 9/10 Stars