Saturday, June 13, 2015

Jurassic World


Score:  **** out of ***** (A-)  (Note: upgraded from B+ after a second viewing)

Directed by Colin Trevorrow
Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, et. al.
Running time:  124 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  The Jurassic franchise is back at last after a 14-year hiatus, and the filmmakers are eager to make up for lost time with the most action-packed installment yet.  Chris Pratt ably leads the way, a suitable choice whose distinct yet subtle playfulness matches the film's tone.  The script is lacking, but the dinosaurs rampage gloriously - and the humans do OK, too.  For those unlike me who don't see Jurassic films as essential viewing, this is still a perfectly entertaining summer film.


After 22 years in the making, Isla Nublar has finally been transformed into a full operational wonder of the world: a resort filled with animals gone millions of years ago and brought back to life.  Amazing as it is, though, this Jurassic World finds itself in the unforgiving world of modern capitalism.  As youngsters Zach and Gray arrive, their aunt Claire (Howard), operations manager of Jurassic World, introduces CEO Masrani (Khan) to a radical new idea to boost profits.  Meanwhile, behavior specialist Owen (Pratt) works with a group of the fearsome velociraptors, studying their intelligence up close and personal.  Nervous, CEO Khan calls him away to examine the new attraction.

It isn't long before this new freak of nature surprises everyone and shatters the peaceful stability on the island.  As shady businessmen and other parties try to both hunt down the creature and hide its true origins, the animal wreaks havoc on the island where nothing alive - man nor beast - is safe.

The cast of Jurassic World can be split into two categories:  the humans, and the (frequently more interesting) dinosaurs.  Chris Pratt leads the homo sapiens as the Alan-Grant-meets-Indiana-Jones trainer, Owen.  Pratt is a strong presence as a source of safety and stability, but not quite the average hero.  He frequently conveys the underlying, good-natured smirk that he had in Guardians of the Galaxy; he's "serious" enough when he needs to be, but also matches the role to the more fantasy-like qualities of the film, too.  Easily the most enjoyable human role.  Bryce Dallas Howard also does well as Claire, avoiding damsel-in-distress cliches, building decent rapport with Pratt, and being perfectly watchable (unlike JP3's insufferable Tea Leoni).  The film's kids are basically dull obligations, though, and the human "villain" played by Vincent D'Onofrio is painfully overplayed and poorly written.  The CEO, played by Khan, has a small and bizarre role, and there is just one returning actor from the original (whose JP role was so small that only fanatics - like me - would remember).

The real attractions, of course, are the dinosaurs - and there are more in Jurassic World than ever before.  The dino "villain" this time is the lab-designed genetic freak Indominus Rex.  A T-Rex like creature with some special features due to its hybrid origins, it's a bit like JP3's Spinosaurus:  a previously-unknown but seemingly unstoppable terror.  It serves as the symbol of World's status as, again, the most fantasy Jurassic film yet, and even as an intriguing "villain" to the other dinos.  The raptors have an interesting new role, as Owen trains a small group of them.  It makes sense due to their intelligence, but the film emphasizes the unpredictability of these deadly creatures.  It all adds up to an intriguing new feel for them.  There are many more "supporting" dinos than before, too - in other words, the herbivores.  And finally - yes, the T-Rex also returns, despite its absence in the previews (which was quite savvy, I think).  More on the big guy later, but suffice it to say that World makes up for the injustices committed by JP3 here.

It might be tempting to lump all the Jurassic films together, but the first three were actually all quite distinct in tone.  Jurassic World continues this, perhaps to an even greater degree.  If and when you can accept this (which took me a little while), it becomes a perfectly entertaining film.  Consider the following:  Jurassic World, fully functional, is essentially a zoo that happens to have dinos; Owen is training velociraptors; and an invented dino with the traits of several different kinds mushed together is on the rampage.  Frankly, it makes Jurassic Park look pretty damn realistic.  It is possible to get bogged down by weaker elements of the film, especially if one doesn't accept this change in tone.  The script is poor, sometimes awful, and while I expected a build-up, it serves up no appetizers at the beginning as we sit through obligatory muck.  Despite inheriting the greatest film theme music of all time (IMO), the soundtrack is lazily utilized.  And perhaps most shocking, many of the effects are not that great.  It does make me appreciate just how mind-blowingly good Jurassic Park's were (both computer and animatronic), but disappointed in some of the quality produced here in a $150 million budget.

All that said, Jurassic World still has much to its credit.  Once the action starts to get going, it's pretty damn entertaining.  While the beginning is poorly handled, some of the human scenes are just fine, particularly involving Pratt and Howard, and even moments in the control room with (a sadly under-utilized) Jake Johnson.  The pacing starts to improve, and, just as John Hammond "spared no expense" in trying to build the park in 1993, the film starts throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, at you.  Indominus Rex puts the beat down on teams of security personnel.  A sky full of flying dinosaurs descend on terrified crowds.  Owen leads his velociraptors in a spooky nighttime hunt.  And then there's the finale battle royal.  No surprise entrance like in the original, the film teases T-Rex's big entrance and it put a huge grin of anticipation on my face.  Here, full disclosure, the film goes totally nuts.  No, it's not realistic - but if you were ever a kid who played with toy dinosaurs, all you can do is hold onto your seat and say, "****, yeah!".

***

It is difficult, to say the least, for me to give Jurassic World an accurate score.  I hold the Jurassic franchise on a pedestal within the film world; I have high expectations, yet the sight of dinosaurs in film entertains me more than the average joe.  I will surely see this film in theaters several more times, and my opinion will likely evolve and eventually settle somewhere.  As the first of three super-anticipated releases in 2015, and on initial consideration, I would say that Jurassic World meets my expectations, despite its flaws.  The crucial thing for me - and likely for others - is to understand and accept (or not) its tonal differences from previous Jurassic films (esp. the first two) and its go-for-broke philosophy.  Yes, its script and characters are hit-or-miss (though still much more entertaining than in JP3), but those aren't the reasons you see this film, anyway.  The disappointing effects are probably a bigger problem, to be honest.  The dinosaurs are the real stars, as always, and they are about as good as, and sometimes better, than ever.  I hope they continue making Jurassic films - and don't wait 14 years to do so.  The great thing is, they can do whatever they want - make a sequel to World, in plot and style, or reboot it for an entirely new approach.  The dinosaurs are the key, and I'll always be back for more.  


Rolling rankings of the summer's movies (click to go to my reviews):
  1. Tomorrowland (A)
  2. Mad Max: Fury Road (A-)
  3. Avengers: Age of Ultron (A-)
  4. Jurassic World (B+)


"Jurassic World movie poster".  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_World#/media/File:Jurassic_World_poster.jpg

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