Okay, everybody knows this movie is making money faster than it
can be printed, but is it any good?
Yes, yes it is.
I was never
that big of a fan of the original Jurassic Park--parts of it were too
sentimental and over-engineered for me. But I was keen to see what
director/co-writer Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) would do with
the franchise. His idea? Make a true sequel to the first film.
The park has become a going concern, a working (and safe) tourist
destination. But like all theme parks, there are stockholders to please,
and the thrills need to get bigger and bigger (if you think this plot point is
a satirical barb aimed at summer tentpole films, you would be correct.)
So, with the bottom line (and with a military arm of the In Gen Corporation
in play), they have created a brand new dinosaur by use of
transgenics--modifying and combining DNA from different sources to create a
brand new animal--Indominous Rex.
Park Director Claire (Bryce Dallas
Howard) is dealing with getting the I-Rex ready for display (they call it an
"asset"), at the same time her nephews Nick and Gray are visiting the
park. Claire does not have time for them, and pawns them off on her
assistant.
Meanwhile, animal trainer Owen (Chris Pratt) has had success
training the deadly Raptors to obey his commands, and to treat him as the pack
leader--a development that excites the military liason (played by Vincent
D'Onofrio.) Owen is skeptical about using the Raptors as soldiers, and he
is really skeptical when In Gen asks him to check out the genetically
engineered I-Rex.
Before he can get a good look at the beast, the big
monster tricks everyone, and suddenly chaos (and a really toothy, bad attitude,
genetically modified dinosaur) is loose in Jurassic World. Claire has to
find a way to save her nephews, and the nearly 20,000 other guests at the park,
as the I-Rex sets off a deadly chain of events. Sure, we have seen this
kind of thing before, but Trevorrow and his screenwriters have approached the
"and then things get worse" credo with a great deal of wit,
invention, and childlike enthusiasm.
Anyone who ever had dinosaur figures
and had them fight would have a lot in common with the filmmakers. Pratt
reinforces that he is a movie star--Owen is manly, fun, and fairly serious (he
has some jokes, but he plays it pretty straight--and his performance here will
do nothing to dispel those Indiana Jones rumors.) Claire is more than
just the corporate, cold businesswoman--she cares for her nephews (eventually)
and has as many bad*** moments as Owen.
I just had a blast with this
film--it dodges a lot of what made the first film not work for me, and it shows
such great command of action, and suspense (and some really horrible
deaths--how did this get a PG-13?) At the end of the day, a good summer
film should be fun, but not insult your intelligence. Jurassic World succeeds
on both counts, as it is much smarter and fleet of foot than some are giving it
credit.
Grade: A-
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