Movie Review: Jurassic World

I’ve been gone for a long time… almost long enough to make a child.

Didn’t make a child. Had some delicious sandwiches though.

I can remember seeing Jurassic Park in theaters with my parents as a kid, and 1993 feels like a lifetime ago… but it has been 22 years, and there’s a lot of nostalgia packed into seeing this film. In today’s world of over analyzing films and searching for meanings that aren’t there, I have good news for you, this isn’t the kind of movie that will require you to search for much more than paying for your ticket and enjoying the 124 minutes of something you’ve seen before… but with a slightly different twist.

Spoiler alert… this is in the trailer

Let me start by saying that if you haven’t seen Safety Not Guaranteed, then you need to stop reading this and come back later.

No seriously go ahead, you’ve got time.

Safety Not Guaranteed is the directorial work of Colin Trevorrow, who brings his talent to one of the biggest blockbusters (after two successful weekends) of all time. When Trevorrow was announced as director of Jurassic World, it brought on mixed feelings, how can you trust a major film like the Jurassic Park series to an Indie film pseudo-veteran?

Well obviously it’s too late to ask that question now, but Safety Not Guaranteed was a movie that truly captures your imagination, Jurassic World… well, it feels more like the continued formula of “general consumption” films that don’t really challenge viewers.

Honestly though, the Jurassic series never has been about that, and what this film represents is a throwback to an age where entertainment is the only focus, and not so much commentary (however, there are a shitload of endorsements.)

We could probably fit at least 5 more hood emblems in this shot

Now before someone jumps down my throat, yes, we could spend all day debating genetic testing and modifying the very fabric of an animal’s DNA. I can’t exactly side-step that fact, it’s the entire premise of the main “din-antagonist” otherwise known as the Indominus Rex.

However, for all the intrigue and potluck of genetic traits the Indominus seems to have packed into it… this film feels a lot more like the 90’s than it does a CGI festival. We have all of the major elements that made 90’s action great… if I may:

• Parents that are close to a divorce
• Children that switch between crying, screaming, and not really getting any character development
• A relatively faceless protagonist
• Explosions, shooting, and killing the shit out of things
• Effortless romance

Yes oversimplification at its finest I know, but the elements at play in this movie directly add up to over a billion in revenue across two weekends and the fact that dinosaurs being themselves put asses in the seats.

Believe it or not, dinosaurs weren’t all vegetarians

Yes I understand… you’ve read about 5 minutes of banter and haven’t really seen a review yet. That’s the entire point, reviews aren’t meant to ruin the plot of the movie, they’re meant to tell you why you should want to watch or not watch something that millions of dollars went into making.

Jurassic World while similar to its predecessors (via, everything goes wrong leading to people getting eaten) lends itself more to being a mystery alongside the obvious guaranteed action. If you haven’t seen the trailer by now, I will ruin one thing for you, Indominus Rex gets out.. and that alone is one of the more intriguing elements of the film.

Once Indominus gets out, we get a chance to see Chris Pratt act out what 98% of his other roles haven’t been.

In Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt pretty much plays a space crusading Andy Dwyer. His role in Jurassic World is more like a hardened man who spends all his days repairing motorcycles and living in a trailer/outhouse combination.

That’s really not far from the truth either.

However, it’s a good change of pace for the not so surprising leading man, and while it’s a pretty generic character, Pratt does a lot to bring emotion to life and keep things entertaining. It’s quite the transformation seeing the stereotypical stoner/funnyman turn into Velociraptor training version of Bryan Mills (a la Taken fame.)

With Pratt’s character Owen Grady on the scene, we instead get a murder-mystery that echoes the sentiments of the tone of the original films.

We also get to see Pratt ride along with Velociraptors on a motorcycle.

It’s hard to admit… but sadly… I have to live with this harsh reality

At the end of the day, Jurassic World gives you the performances you expect to see out of a standard action movie. Vincent D’onofrio plays super-douche bad guy #1, Bryce Dallas Howard does her best Tina Fey impression (and is unfortunately delegated to standard eye candy #1), and some kids who I’ll never remember the names of (nor will I even try to find out to reference) deliver performances that are just as cliched as action stars walking away from explosions.

Surprisingly however… that doesn’t happen in this film.

Instead, we do get a relatively formulaic movie, an action film that pretty much gives in to our base desires, and that’s to see dinosaurs and people who kick ass do interesting things for just over two hours.

Final Rating: 3.5/5.0

Jurassic World is a throwback in terms of action films and a pure entertainment driven experience. Colin Trevorrow’s first blockbuster didn’t reinvent the wheel, and while it’s formulaic in a lot of ways, there aren’t many movies that you find in a Summer season that are fun from start to finish. The ending is especially satisfying for fans of the original.

You’ll overlook the cheesy parts of this film because honestly, they’re a barely noticeable speed bump in a film that constantly goes faster than the speed limit.

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Its been too long, but as always, be careful who you bed with.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll hopefully do this again a LOT sooner.

• Bryce Dallas Howard
• Chris Pratt
• Colin Trevorrow
• Jurassic Park
• Jurassic World
• Vincent D'onofrio