Revisiting Jurassic World

[Guestx]

I was going to just post this in the "Rate the Jurassic Park movies" thread but I figured I'd go ahead and crack open a new thread for this one.

Since I recently re-watched The Lost World and Jurassic Park III, I figured I'd go ahead and give Jurassic World another look as well. I haven't seen it since catching it in the theater and I was curious to see how my memory of the film matched up with the actual film.

My feelings about the movie went from "Hey, it's not as good as the first film, but that was pretty cool!" upon my initial viewing to "Ehh, you know in retrospect Jurassic World was actually kind of disappointing." Now having rewatched it, I think I'm somewhere in the middle. I obviously don't think it's anywhere near as good as the first movie, but it's probably the second best entry in the franchise.

Where I feel like JW is strong in comparison to the other sequels is in the depth of its story. TLW and JP3 both more or less told the same story: Humans get marooned on Isla Sorna and have to run from, and occasionally fight, dinosaurs. That's it. That's the entire premise of those two movies in a nutshell.

Compare that to the first film, where you have multiple story lines playing out throughout the film. To copy and paste from my post about JP3: In the first movie, we get to learn about the science of dino recreation, we get to understand how the park works and how it's set up, our main characters are trying to do their science shit and learn about these new majestic creatures, while Nedry is trying to smuggle out the dino embryos, and Hammond is trying to sell the idea of the park and get his safety endorsement, and Dr. Grant is learning to like kids . . . and then the shit hits the fan and Dr. Grant's paternal instincts rise to the surface, and Nedry's plan falls apart, and Hammond is trying to hold shit together, and Lex's foreshadowed hacker skills get us back into the computer system. . . And so on. We all know the rest.

As you can see, the plot to the first film is so much RICHER than its sequels.

(This is that real shit!)
​

But I feel like with JW, there is a return to more layered storytelling, even if the film is not as successful at this as JP was. With JW, for the first time, we get to see a fully-fuctioning park that is open to the public. We have Chris Pratt trying to train his raptors. Bryce Howard is trying to learn not to be such a workaholic. Vincent D'Onofrio is trying to push his (admittedly retarded) plan to weaponize dinos. BD Wong is busy defending his super-creation, the Indominus Rex. The kids are finding their brotherly connection as they cope with the impending divorce of their parents. And somewhere along the line, shit hits the fan and they gotta fight dinos.

Regardless of whether you think all of these story elements are good or not, the bottom line is that there IS a story, and it consists of more than, "Ahhhh! Dinos are coming! Run!"

(Chris Pratt be like, "Hey, remember when I was just the goofy Parks and Rec guy?")​

One thing that has always been very important to the franchise is the casting/characters. Chris Pratt is no Sam Neill and I don't think his character (Owen) is especially interesting, but he's a likable enough dude with enough charisma to attract viewers' attention. And Bryce Dallas Howard is no Laura Dern--frankly, I'd even say she's no Julianne Moore--but, you know, she's cool and lively. And let's face it, she looks amazing.

​

Vincent D'Onofrio's character I find to be pretty stupid, but he at least does a good job bringing a stupid character to life. And while the kids are often criticized, I really didn't mind them. I didn't love them . . . didn't hate them . . . I thought they got the job done. They were fine.

But since we're talking about criticisms, allow me to address a few that I've seen made several times before.

1. The Indominus Rex is dumb.

I actually don't think so. We already have a bunch of scientists who love to play God and who have not even been creating "pure" dinosaurs from beginning. Remember that even in the first film they had to fill in the gaps of the genetic code. Something like the Indominus would be a natural next step for Dr. Wu and his crew.


2. The whole idea of weaponized raptors is dumb.

Yes, that was stupid. And it doesn't even really make sense. What are we going to do, drop a bunch of raptors into Afghanistan and have them help us fight the war on terror?

I was praising the film earlier for offering "more plot" than the previous two films. I stand by that. But I do wish they had come up with something better than weaponized raptors. On the plus side though, this plot line actually takes up only a short amount of screen time and it gets put to bed for good when D'Onofrio is eaten by a by one of his prospective dino soldiers.


3. The divorce plot line is dumb.

Eh. That's classic Spielberg. I've never understood why people were so bothered by it.


4. Too much fan service.

Again: Eh. It's the first film in almost 15 years. A few nods back to the original seem appropriate.


5. Too much CGI, not enough animatronics.

Agreed. I think the CGI, as a whole, is quite good (though some is actually kind of bad). But I would've liked to see more animatronics. Apparently Trevorrow wanted to use more animatronics, but only got to use one such dino, and he had to fight for that. Gay. Spielberg should've stepped up and been like, "Yeah! Animatronics!"


6. Using Rexy to help kill the Indominus felt contrived.

It makes logical sense, actually. You have a dino super-predator on the loose and you need to bring it down. Human weapons aren't getting the job done. Bringing out your OTHER dino super-predator who likes to scrap sounds like a pretty good idea.

(It's her world, you just live in it.)​

I know that with each new word I type out I run a greater and greater risk of losing you guys 'cause of TL;DR so I'll wrap it up.

I feel comfortable putting Jurassic World firmly in the #2 spot, behind the first film. While it can't match that film on virtually any level, it's still an enjoyable movie that delivers a rich and layered narrative, even if there are a few missteps in terms of the script. Chris Pratt is a charismatic lead who brings some effective humor to the movie, while Bryce Howard brings to life a capable and attractive character in Claire.

Jurassic World does a good job of resurrecting the franchise from the ashes and acts as a promise for future films to come. Fingers crossed that J. A. Bayona is able to deliver on the promise and build upon this film to deliver something even better with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

7/10

 

[blaseblah]

6. Using Rexy to help kill the Ndominus felt contrived.

It makes logical sense, actually. You have a dino super-predator on the loose and you need to bring it down. Human weapons aren't getting the job done. Bringing out your OTHER dino super-predator who likes to scrap sounds like a pretty good idea.

(It's her world, you just live in it.)​

A dino super predator is on the loose, rampaging around, eating people, and trying to kill us. Let's unleash another one that does the exact same thing.

Oh yeah, and once the Indominous is dead the danger is all gone and we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Let's forget all about this other giant super predator walking around, she's inexplicably no threat now. She was a terror in the other movies but she loves humans now.

 

[HereticBD]

I just treat it like a big stupid B-movie.

When the evil villain started talking about the potential of turning Raptors into military weapons, is the point where I stopped taking it all too seriously, and started laughing with it, and not at it. I think the dumb shit was completely intentional, and they were just having fun with it all. I think they realized it was pointless trying to recreate the heart and soul of the original, and just went into a more absurd, over the top territory with it.

 

[Guestx]

A dino super predator is on the loose, rampaging around, eating people, and trying to kill us. Let's unleash another one that does the exact same thing.

Oh yeah, and once the Indominous is dead the danger is all gone and we can all breathe a sigh of relief. Let's forget all about this other giant super predator walking around, she's inexplicably no threat now. She was a terror in the other movies but she loves humans now.

Short answer: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Longer answer: Literally nothing else is working.

Trevorrow said in an interview that the T-Rex in Jurassic World is the same T-Rex from the first film. They've had her for over 20 years. She's a known quantity and they know how to handle her.

The #1 priority is to take out the Indominus. Let's do that and then re-contain Rexy.

But sure, I understand what you're saying. It obviously was a risky plan.

 

[Morning Star]

I saw it once it was available. Had a cheesy summer movie vibe to me. Red head was hot. The trained Raptor's was thing was pretty stupid. Also the way things played out at the end felt like the way kids would play it out with dinosaur toys (Raptor's flipping sides, Old School T-Rex with the wrestling entrance/save, and big Shark Dino with the finish out of nowhere).

It was entertaining but nothing much beyond that IMO.

 

[Guestx]

I just treat it like a big stupid B-movie.

When the evil villain started talking about the potential of turning Raptors into military weapons, is the point where I stopped taking it all too seriously, and started laughing with it, and not at it. I think the dumb shit was completely intentional, and they were just having fun with it all. I think they realized it was pointless trying to recreate the heart and soul of the original, and just went into a more absurd, over the top territory with it.

The only truly dumb thing I think is in the film is the "weaponized raptor" angle. And it really is dumb. But if you go back and rewatch the film, you'll find that--directly at least--only about 20 minutes of screen time is given to that plot line.

I do agree that it's not to be taken seriously like the first film is. But I still find it to have more depth than any of the other sequels.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

The water dinosaur taking out the land dinosaur at the end was lazy writing. Still fairly enjoyable movie though.

 

[IndyCovaHart]

You are passionate in what you speak, so for that and that alone I will be nice.

 

[blaseblah]

Short answer: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Longer answer: Literally nothing else is working.

Trevorrow said in an interview that the T-Rex in Jurassic World is the same T-Rex from the first film. They've had her for over 20 years. She's a known quantity and they know how to handle her.

The #1 priority is to take out the N. Dominus. Let's do that and then re-contain Rexy.

But sure, I understand what you're saying. It obviously was a risky plan.

They raised the Indominous since birth, while the T-Rex has spent a significant portions of her life free and eating animals and humans. If anything the Indominous should be easier to control.

Also why did they completely relax after the Indominous died? That T-Rex was still roaming around. The ultimate terror of the first two movies is suddenly no longer a threat at all. Stupid. Also there is still a velrociraptor and pterodactyls. But nope, everyone's safe now, roll credits.

 

[Guestx]

I saw it once it was available. Had a cheesy summer movie vibe to me. Red head was hot. The trained Raptor's was thing was pretty stupid. Also the way things played out at the end felt like the way kids would play it out with dinosaur toys (Raptor's flipping sides, Old School T-Rex with the wrestling entrance/save, and big Shark Dino with the finish out of nowhere).

It was entertaining but nothing much beyond that IMO.

LOL. I didn't think to equate the final fight with a wresting match but now that you mention it that's hilariously accurate.

 

[Guestx]

They raised the Indominous since birth, while the T-Rex has spent a significant portions of her life free and eating animals and humans. If anything the Indominous should be easier to control.

Well they raised the T-Rex from birth also. She was laboratory born after all. But sure, she had some time in the world on her own, though we don't know how long.

However, at one point in the film Chris Pratt makes a point of saying that all the other dinos on the island have been socialized to some extent. But the Indominus has lived in total isolation, aside from one sibling, which it ate. All it knows how to do is kill.

Also why did they completely relax after the Indominous died? That T-Rex was still roaming around. The ultimate terror of the first two movies is suddenly no longer a threat at all.

Good question.

The final scene of the movie has Rexy off in the distance looking across the landscape. Maybe they knew she had split and was way off where she wasn't an immediate threat?

Dunno.

 

[Guestx]

The water dinosaur taking out the land dinosaur at the end was lazy writing. Still fairly enjoyable movie though.

I actually kind of liked it. They could've had Rexy just keep biting until the Indominus fell but I thought that added an element of surprise. In the end, three dinos had to team up to finish that fucker.

It takes a village.

 

[Guestx]

You are passionate in what you speak, so for that and that alone I will be nice.

That's kind of you! But by all means speak your mind. . .

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I actually kind of liked it. They could've had Rexy just keep biting until the Ndominus fell but I thought that added an element of surprise. In the end, three dinos had to team up to finish that fucker.

It takes a village.

It made me laugh and it was unexpected, so I'll give it that.

 

[blaseblah]

Well they raised the T-Rex from birth also. She was laboratory born after all. But sure, she had some time in the world on her own, though we don't know how long.

However, at one point in the film Chris Pratt makes a point of saying that all the other dinos on the island have been socialized to some extent. But the Ndominus has lived in total isolation, aside from one sibling, which it ate. All it knows how to do is kill.



Good question.

The final scene of the movie has Rexy off in the distance looking across the landscape. Maybe they knew she had split and was way off where she wasn't an immediate threat?

Dunno.

They weren't socialized though. Both the raptors and the pterodactyls were attacking humans as soon as they got free. The T-Rex was trying to eat the chick as soon as soon as she let it out.

It's a pretty big plot hole that as soon as the Indominous is dead the rest of the animals are magically no longer a threat.

 

[moreorless87]

Honestly OP most of the issues you address fall into the "bro criticism" style for me of picking out plot points rather than actually judging a film on its overall quality.

 

[Guestx]

They weren't socialized though. Both the raptors and the pterodactyls were attacking humans as soon as they got free. The T-Rex was trying to eat the chick as soon as soon as she let it out.

It's a pretty big plot hole that as soon as the Indominous is dead the rest of the animals are magically no longer a threat.

That's a fair criticism. I just took it as, "The dangerous ones have gone to other parts of the island." But yeah, you're right. The fact that there are still plenty of terrifying predators out there is not really addressed.

Frankly, I have to say that I didn't even think about it and you're the first person I've ever seen to bring it up. I don't think it's something that makes or breaks the movie.

 

[Guestx]

Honestly OP most of the issues you address fall into the "bro criticism" style for me of picking out plot points rather than actually judging a film on its overall quality.

LOL. Bro criticism! Indeed.

I mean, I can understand why some people might make those points. But most of it really is some nitpicky shit.

Like I said, it's the weaponized raptor plot line that I think is the only real major issue.

 

[blaseblah]

I actually kind of liked it. They could've had Rexy just keep biting until the Indominus fell but I thought that added an element of surprise. In the end, three dinos had to team up to finish that fucker.

It takes a village.

I thought that was the most predictable part of the movie. They kept showing off the water dino so you knew it was going to come into play at the end.

 

[Guestx]

I thought that was the most predictable part of the movie. They kept showing off the water dino so you knew it was going to come into play at the end.

For whatever reason, I rarely have that kind of foresight when watching a movie. It's just always been my way to take things at face value.

They keep showing the water dino so I just take it as them wanting to show off their new dinosaur and add to the sense that, yes, this is a fully functioning park. It's a major attraction and gives the park a "lived in" feel.

Especially considering that it lives in the water and the Indominus is a land creature, it didn't occur to me that somehow they would meet.