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| Directed by | Colin Trevorrow |
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| Produced by |
Patrick Crowley |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by |
Rick Jaffa Amanda Silver |
| Based on | Characters created by Michael Crichton |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Michael Giacchino |
| Cinematography | John Schwartzman |
| Edited by | Kevin Stitt |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release dates
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June 10, 2015 (Los Angeles premiere) June 12, 2015 (United States) |
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Running time
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124 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $150 million |
Fortunately, like the spin of a wheel, the monster movie genre has been on a revival these days. It was only a year ago when rookie Gareth Edwards picked up the rubble left by Roland Emmerich’s poor 1998 rendition of Godzilla, and in the end, the thrilling 2014 rendition was enough to restore the previously tarnished pride of Japan’s most iconic monster. Spurred on by the success of the 2014’s Godzilla, Universal finally gave the go-ahead for their own monster movie, in the form of the protracted fourth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise: Jurassic World. Many hoped that Jurassic World would be the genuine spiritual successor to the 1993’s Jurassic Park in terms of thrills and spills that were inconsistent in its previous two sequels.
At the end of the day, fourteen years had passed since Jurassic Park 3 (2001), but not much has really changed in Jurassic World. In fact, Jurassic World allows the audience to relive the iconic moments from past installments in such revamped, yet timelessly spectacular fashion that it still pack the thrills and spills the fourth time coming.
Back in Isla Nublar
Instead of being the straightforward sequel to Jurassic Park 3 (2001), Jurassic World prefers to pick its story up from where the 1993 version left off. Almost twenty two years since an unexpected dinosaur revolt forced Jurassic Park to cease operation, Isla Nublar once again becomes the host to a collection of exotic dinosaurs of various shapes and sizes, with the titular park now rebranded into Jurassic World. As much as the late John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) believed that bringing those extinct beings back into modern life was enough to amaze the crowd, the corporate minds thinks otherwise. Pressured by their desire for a money-making juggernaut, bigger and fiercer than the other dinosaurs, to boost park attendance, manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) was compelled to oversee the creation of that bigger and fiercer crossbred in the Indominus Rex.
However, little did they knew, the Indominus Rex has outgrown its initial purpose. Driven by a newfound sense of curiosity, the Rex slowly emerges as an imminent threat to the visitors. With the Indominus Rex running loose in the open, leaving trails of rampage behind, the fate of all the people within the park rests on the hands of Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to take down the new predator in town.
Greed
When Universal first optioned the film right to Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel Jurassic Park, the first thing they had to do was to transform the science-heavy source material into a motion picture heavier on popcorn fare appeal. To that end, director Steven Spielberg managed to appease the novel fans by retaining some of the scientific elements (albeit simplified) from the original, as well as add the much necessary cinematic elements to the mix, making the 1993 adaptation the widely-revered classic we now become fond of. With that in mind, the film version of Jurassic Park, like Jaws in 1975, more than just portrays the dinosaurs as a figure of thrill from its physical appearance. In building that claustrophobic atmosphere by restricting all the action within the confines of the park, it gave the original film the much-needed horror elements to rise beyond just a B-level monster movie. So, it is no surprise that one way to reinvent the Jurassic Park franchise for screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver is by bringing the dinosaur mayhem back into the titular park the fourth time coming.
Still, it was not just the dinosaurs’ presence and the park’s atmosphere which saw Jurassic Park endure the test of time. From a barely believable scenario to begin with, the audiences were bound to the film’s universal yet relatable theme: greed. While the greed theme was rather left underdeveloped in the previous two sequels, the screenwriting duo opts to revisit the original film’s theme this time around for Jurassic World, connecting all the dots based on the idea of greed and its consequences. On the surface, the natural-born feral instinct of the Indominus Rex itself should easily represent greed as being the media which consequentially drives it to turn its back against its creators. However, the theme runs deep into the human characters as well, where they try to explore how the consequence of greed compel such change in actions and perspectives from different personalities, especially when thrown into the man v. wild situation.
For that, I would like to single out two characters that embody that idea of greed in park manager Claire and the park’s head of the security Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio). At the beginning of the film, these two characters come across as similarly apathetic figures who view the dinosaurs as nothing more than materials, on a corporate and military sense respectively. However, when the going gets tough, these two characters’ responses to greed lead them to different paths. As she ventures along the park’s wilderness alongside Grady, Claire begins to sympathize with the dinosaurs left for dead by the Indominus Rex. In contrast, Hoskins only becomes much more apathetic. Hoskins’ way of treating Owen’s raptors as military weapons would result in his downfall.
Fortunately, director Colin Trevorrow manages to convey such thought-provoking theme like greed so dominant in Jaffa/Silver’s treatment loudly and clearly without damaging its prospect as the popcorn fare of the summer. Considering how the narrative contains a plethora of characters, it is also an exceptional collective effort from the director and screenwriters to be able to develop them into more than just one-dimensional figures. While set up as a fast, action-driven narrative, it would be hard not to let out a bit of chuckle by moments of breather such as Jake Johnson’s notable cameo as the nerdy park employee Lowery.
The Dinosaurs are coming …
Greed theme aside, it is undeniable that Jurassic Park’s main appeal after all remains on the dinosaurs themselves. To begin with, special effect designer Stan Winston was given perhaps the most difficult task in 1993 when he had to revive these prehistoric beings into cinematic life. Thankfully, Winston rose to the occasion. With silver screen magic comprised of life-like animatronics and a bit of special effect touch-up, the dinosaurs’ appearances and movements compound to such spectacular view deserving of its status as Hollywood’s greatest cinematic icons. Even when the seven years had passed since Winston’s death, the late designer’s Midas touch was still spiritually felt in the shape of its dinosaurs. As breathtaking sequences such as herbivorous dinosaurs like Stegosaurus smoothly lumbering across the park’s open field or carnivorous ones like the Indominus Rex, Raptors and the winged Pterodactyls wrestling against each other and wreaking havoc on the facilities unravel in front of our very eyes in Jurassic World, the familiarity of such scenes would only serve as a belated yet worthy ode to Winston’s fundamental contribution in making all the magic happen in the first place.
As a result, it was to no surprise that the Winston-inspired dinosaurs became the personification of all the thrills and spills expected in the Jurassic Park films. Though, this time around, Trevorrow tries to breaks out from the shell of making Jurassic World just dinosaur pageantry. While the dinosaur onslaught is still a thrill to watch, some of the actors/actresses are also in the mix of some of the coolest moments in Jurassic World. From having to see Claire’s character fleeing from the chasing packs of dinosaurs on heels throughout the film to the picturesque moment of Owen Grady straddling an ATV while herding his Raptors forward, these are just the moments needed to make the human characters similarly fun action figures to watch like the dinosaurs.
Raptor trainer Star-Lord
In a film as CGI heavy as Jurassic World, it is almost every actors’ and actresses’ challenge to stand out amidst the presence of its computerized counterparts, in this case being the dinosaurs. Perhaps, the lead actors from the previous Jurassic Park films in Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum have been the rare exceptions with iconic brainy characters such as Dr. Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm respectively. In no means of going overboard, but Chris Pratt could just join that very rank of rare exceptions in his role as Raptor trainer Owen Grady.
On the surface, the rugged figure of Owen Grady represents a change of trend in the Jurassic Park franchise, where the brainy, scientist-type characters now gives way to the brawny, military-type ones. Though, on one side, the remainder of Dr. Grant’s or Ian’s traits is still plain to see. At least, it comes from Owen’s cynical attitude towards anything corporate-driven. Still, to the eyes of the modern moviegoers, it is undeniable that Owen Grady comes across as a crude reflection of Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord persona from the Guardians of Galaxy. A muscle-bound, professional Raptor trainer yet still not short of that easygoingness and sense of humor, Owen Grady is not only next in line as cinema’s instantly likeable character, but also marks Chris Pratt’s startling rise from comedian to action hero. Add to that, Bryce Dallas Howard’s portrayal as park manager Claire is another bright point. Providing the foil to Grady’s easygoing nature, Bryce has all the tools required to bring the uptight, workaholic Claire into life, carrying the character to a good stead as she transitions from typical damsel-in-distress to tough heroine.
Whilst the supporting cast’ appearances are at best brief, they also deliver some solid performances. On Vincent D’Onofrio’s case, his role as park security Hoskins is far from the sort of baleful presence which makes Wilson Fisk a thorn in Daredevil’s back, but the slimy personality D’Onofrio brings to the table only adds to his personal collection of great villainous roles. That extends to even the juniors like Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins. While the two characters as brothers with a rather dysfunctional relationship feel like a carbon copy to those of Hammond’s grandchildren Tim and Alex Murphy in the 1993 version, their chemistry is still believable in its own way. When the action takes a breather for the emotional scenes, their characters really break out from the pack.
Conclusion
The fourth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise has been a long wait. Based on the special effect galore, the long wait pays off in the end. Whilst far from the heights of the original, Jurassic World succeeds in bringing the classic franchise back into modern life without casting away key elements which made the original iconic. While the dinosaurs and the stellar cast are the stars of the show, the return of Isla Nublar as the home of the Jurassic Park is the real star as the thrills and spills inconsistent in the previous two sequels comes back with a bang. Really, all the terror which happened in Isla Nublar should only stay there.
Final Score: 8.5/10
suburbia666 