I knew it, I just knew it - or at least partially knew it. In my IMDb review for "Jurassic Park III (which I admired very much, by the way, so there!!!) I predicted that the follow-up movie would involve some kind of dinosaur DNA manipulation and creation of new dinosaur hybrids. Lo and behold, the movie Jurassic World (hereafter "JW") introduces a hybrid, christened "Indomitus Rex (I-rex)" which is an amalgam of T-Rex and raptor DNA, plus non-dinosaur DNA such as from the tree frog and the cuttlefish (which is a type of gastropod or squid with chromatophores that allow it to camouflage itself by changing colors). That's why, in addition to its extra knife-like teeth, robust arms, and Wolverine-like claws, I-Rex has the "Predator" - like ability to blend seamlessly into its surroundings. Basically, it looks like the Spinosaurus from "JPIII" without the spines. I-Rex came into being, because, according to JW's operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), the InGen-owned dinosaur theme park was suffering diminishing attendance as people were getting jaded and blasé about "ordinary" dinosaurs, (which I found hard to believe) and needed a brand-new, better dinosaur. InGen and JW succeeded beyond their wildest nightmares.
As my title suggests, originality and social commentary are not high on JW's agenda. Even as it borrows and copies scenes and concepts (sometimes almost wholesale) from all three of its Jurassic Park movie predecessors, JW doesn't bang you over the head with the ethical implications of cloning and exploiting dinosaurs for human amusement. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) are not present to poke at our consciences. No, JW borrows from yet another movie source, the "Godzilla" films, to scare both park and movie audiences with a terrifying, practically invincible monster attacking everything in its path, sometimes (as with the apatosaurs) just for the thrill of it.
Actually, there is one person who does disapprove of "JW"'s hybridization program. That would be rugged, good-looking, Navy veteran Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) who for some inexplicable reason is serving as surrogate mother and "whisperer" to a pack of raptors who imprinted on him upon hatching (as implied from the movie's beginning). But for whatever reason he attempts to "tame" and "control" his charges, he has no intention of allowing InGen security head Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) to use the raptors as military weapons a la the "Alien" franchise (I was thinking how Vic would do such a thing; despite their speed and ferocity, raptors can't fire guns and aren't bullet-proof - oh well). Therefore, besides the distracted, workaholic, ex-girlfriend Claire, Owen has to constantly butt heads with Vic.
Anyway, before long, the I-Rex uses his chameleon powers and cunning as well as brute strength to escape from his remote enclosure and make his deadly bee-line for the theme park. To complicate matters further, Claire's nephews, dinosaur geek expert Gray (Ty Simpkins) and his hormonally-charged older brother Zach (Nick Robinson) are simultaneously visiting the park. Therefore, the plot simply involves stopping the I-Rex before it destroys the park, kills off or frees the other dinosaurs, decimates the customers, including Zach and Gray, and, horror of horrors, sinks InGen's latest investment!
In some ways, besides having similarities to the movies already mentioned, JW resembles "Independence Day" in the way that it is engrossing, exciting, and involving, just so long as you don't think too deeply about it. Otherwise, you will notice the nagging inconsistencies and foolish, nonsensical behavior like
1. The I-Rex crashing through walls
2. A security guard hiding behind a car that the I-Rex can flip like a Tonka toy
3. Claire running in high heels (even after Owen tells her to lose them)
4. The raptors switching loyalties back and forth between Owen and the I-Rex
5. Vic sticking his hand out to pet a snarling raptor
6. Claire (still in high heels) going to a secret enclosure to summon - guess who (no,it's not King Kong)to take on the I-Rex in a pulse-pounding, earth-shaking climactic fight,
7. The mosasaur (the colossal water creature) demonstrating both the deus ex machina principle and the Chekov gun principle, if you know what I mean (if you don't, you can look up those principles on Wikipedia, as I did).
But, hey, it's summer. Who thinks during the summer? "JW" is the perfect example of the Summer Dinosaur Monster movie. Send your brain to bed and let JW treat you and your emotions to an immensely rollicking good time!
As my title suggests, originality and social commentary are not high on JW's agenda. Even as it borrows and copies scenes and concepts (sometimes almost wholesale) from all three of its Jurassic Park movie predecessors, JW doesn't bang you over the head with the ethical implications of cloning and exploiting dinosaurs for human amusement. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) are not present to poke at our consciences. No, JW borrows from yet another movie source, the "Godzilla" films, to scare both park and movie audiences with a terrifying, practically invincible monster attacking everything in its path, sometimes (as with the apatosaurs) just for the thrill of it.
Actually, there is one person who does disapprove of "JW"'s hybridization program. That would be rugged, good-looking, Navy veteran Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) who for some inexplicable reason is serving as surrogate mother and "whisperer" to a pack of raptors who imprinted on him upon hatching (as implied from the movie's beginning). But for whatever reason he attempts to "tame" and "control" his charges, he has no intention of allowing InGen security head Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) to use the raptors as military weapons a la the "Alien" franchise (I was thinking how Vic would do such a thing; despite their speed and ferocity, raptors can't fire guns and aren't bullet-proof - oh well). Therefore, besides the distracted, workaholic, ex-girlfriend Claire, Owen has to constantly butt heads with Vic.
Anyway, before long, the I-Rex uses his chameleon powers and cunning as well as brute strength to escape from his remote enclosure and make his deadly bee-line for the theme park. To complicate matters further, Claire's nephews, dinosaur geek expert Gray (Ty Simpkins) and his hormonally-charged older brother Zach (Nick Robinson) are simultaneously visiting the park. Therefore, the plot simply involves stopping the I-Rex before it destroys the park, kills off or frees the other dinosaurs, decimates the customers, including Zach and Gray, and, horror of horrors, sinks InGen's latest investment!
In some ways, besides having similarities to the movies already mentioned, JW resembles "Independence Day" in the way that it is engrossing, exciting, and involving, just so long as you don't think too deeply about it. Otherwise, you will notice the nagging inconsistencies and foolish, nonsensical behavior like
1. The I-Rex crashing through walls
2. A security guard hiding behind a car that the I-Rex can flip like a Tonka toy
3. Claire running in high heels (even after Owen tells her to lose them)
4. The raptors switching loyalties back and forth between Owen and the I-Rex
5. Vic sticking his hand out to pet a snarling raptor
6. Claire (still in high heels) going to a secret enclosure to summon - guess who (no,it's not King Kong)to take on the I-Rex in a pulse-pounding, earth-shaking climactic fight,
7. The mosasaur (the colossal water creature) demonstrating both the deus ex machina principle and the Chekov gun principle, if you know what I mean (if you don't, you can look up those principles on Wikipedia, as I did).
But, hey, it's summer. Who thinks during the summer? "JW" is the perfect example of the Summer Dinosaur Monster movie. Send your brain to bed and let JW treat you and your emotions to an immensely rollicking good time!