Anticipation has been keen for Jurassic World, especially for those
with memories of previous versions, and I expect this one will not disappoint
them. Special effects are
stunningly real enough to elicit gasps and screams from the audience, and the
main dinosaurs somehow have enough personality to give you the impression
you’re acquainted with them.
I think the weakest aspects of the film are in
the dialog and the characters portrayed.
It’s never been clear to me why millions of dollars are spent on special
effects in films and so little attention paid to dialog and character
development. Most of the
characters in Jurassic World are
obnoxious: self-serving
know-it-alls who ignore experts (lots of these), a hoity-toity director of the
park who also won’t listen and weigh advice given to her, a rat of an older
brother, and a younger brother who is mostly appealing except when his ADHD
propels him through the park at breakneck speed.
The dialog could have been made much more
interesting if there had been a genuine philosophical argument about using
animals like drones in warfare.
All we get here is one man wanting to do it, and the animal trainer
giving reasons why not to, but it’s only a brief argument in passing.
We meet the two boys, Zach (Nick Robinson) and
Gray (Ty Simpkins), as they are saying goodbye to their parents and getting on
a plane to spend a week with their Aunt Claire (Howard) at her dinosaur theme
park. Of course, she is a very
busy woman and not exactly kid-friendly, so pawns them off to her assistant for
the day. (The assistant is not
kid-friendly either, so we get an inkling of how the day is going to go.)
Claire has her hands full trying to balance the
demands of the owner of the park (Khan), shareholders, and staff; in
particular, the animal trainer Owen (Pratt). This would make her sympathetic, but she is all business,
figures, and academic terminology, let alone mile-high control needs. Owen is about the only sympathetic,
admirable character among all of them, but most turn deaf ears to his
recommendations. He has developed
the ability to bond with four young raptors with astounding results, and of
course, there are those just waiting in the wings to exploit them.
To add to the intrigue, there is a lab on site
that has been experimenting with a cocktail of genetic traits to develop a
super dinosaur, which is being held in captivity. The business people know/“think?” they need to bring out a
new thrill at the park every few years to keep the public interested. This creature will be their ace in the
hole very soon. But if only they
realized how much they have been playing with fire, naively mixing genes and
keeping an animal in captivity without socialization or training.
Pratt is a fine hero who is a knowledgeable
Johnny-on-the-spot in times of crisis, although I think the character needs a
little more forceful strength than Pratt conveys. Howard is a good actress, but her role as written (a bundle
of female stereotypes) is unbelievable, the epitome of which is her running in
high heels all over acres of jungle-like parkland. Both Khan and D’Onofrio do well in their roles as misguided
leaders with a little power.
I loved Colin Trevorrow’s work as director of Safety not Guaranteed, and his direction
is spot on here—although the script, to which he contributed does not measure
up to his work as director. A very
strong asset of Jurassic World is the
music by Michael Giacchino, soaring at times, dissonant at others, and lyrical
during tender moments—although I must say Christmas music in the beginning was
a bit too much to take.
If you like to be thrilled and
terrified by dinosaurs…
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