Jurassic World Review: One Jurassic Mess!

In 1993, the world of film was forever changed when Steven Spielberg brought the work of author Michael Cricton to life. What Spielberg brought to theaters was a world of dinosaurs and what would happens when the extinct race joins the 20th century. This movie was none other then Jurassic Park.  Thanks to its sense of spectacle, Jurassic Park became a cultural hit with many moviegoers as the blockbuster is cherished even to this day. The film would spawn two sequels, but neither met the reception as the first film did. For the longest time It seemed that the sci-fi adventure franchise went extinct with the dinosaurs; however life found a way to bring this series back to silver screen. After years of being development hell, the fourth installment to the series was finally developed and became known as Jurassic World. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, Jurassic World looked to hold true to its predecessor's strength as there was plenty of spectacle to see in the film's trailer. With massive effects and the idea of genetically engineered dinosaur, where could this blockbuster go wrong?

Taking place twenty two  years after the first film, the park has been reopened as Jurassic World. The new and improved island has brought people all across the world to see its attractions. However the park's buyrates has been slipping. So in order to bring something new to Jurassic World, the scientist create a new kind of dinosaur known as the Indominus Rex. Unfortunately the scientist of Jurassic World did their job a little too well as what they created was a highly intelligent dinosaur that is bent on attacking anything that moves. With the Indominus Rex on the loose, it is up to Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) to stop the creature and the save the unexpected tourists before the creature makes its way to the park's center.




I have no issue with a film's plot being merely a simple adventure. There is plenty of entertainment one can have with a simplistic story. I however cannot accept the plot that is Jurassic World. It was not the story's simplicity that bugged me, but rather its disregard to explain anything and the cliches that the drove this plot. At no time was any background given about how we got from Jurassic Park to Jurassic World. I realize that a story can throw you into the thick of things, but Jurassic World's story was one that needed to be explained. There were points where it seemed that the plot wanted to be complex, but story's need to be cliched just left me scratching my head throughout the film's run-time.

The characters to the film were not any better. While  Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard Tye Simpkins  and other did the best they could, the characters to Jurassic World were just as cliched as the story.  Whether it was Claire's development, the relationship between Claire and Owen or the movie's need to find a human villain, everything about these characters came off as poorly written cartoons. One of the few saving graces in this factors was the brothers Zach and Gray Mitchell. While the two did not have the best development, their scenes did come off as genuine. I realize that Jurassic Park has never been known for its solid characters, but this type of characterization was uncalled for.

While the story and characters has escaped this film, surely the spectacle could make up for Jurassic World's flaws. If only that were true. Unfortunately the effects to Jurassic World ranged from tolerable to laughable. While some of the close up shots of the dinosaur were good, most the effects were cheesy and unbelievable. This issue may not have bothered me with other blockbusters. However we are dealing with Jurassic Park: a franchise that has basked in tremendous effects. The effects to Jurassic World were inexcusable as they provided nothing new to the franchise; not to mention the world of film.  There are some good things about the technical aspects. The film had a few well constructed action sequences; and the score from Michael Giachinno was alright. However, when it comes right down to it, the technical elements to Jurassic World were lackluster; and it gave this blockbuster almost no spectacle.

To say that Jurassic World was a disappointment is an understatement. While factors such as acting, music and direction in action were tolerable, these were not enough to save the film from its poor storytelling, cliched characters and horrendous use of effects. As unfortunate as it is to say, Jurassic World is the worst kind of blockbuster. If this is to be resurgence of this series, then the filmmakers need to seriously go back to the drawing board or leave this franchise extinct.