In 1993, the world of cinema was taken aback by something brilliant; Jurassic Park graced big screens for the first time, and was adored by many. The film was the start of a trilogy, with the third movie coming out in 1997. However, in 2015, the idea of a dinosaur theme park was no longer just an idea, but it’s not the holiday you’d hope for...
Chris Pratt with co-stars / Picture Credit: Universal Pictures
Director of Jurassic World, Colin Trevorrow, brought to life what many fans have been wanting to see since the first original film – what the park John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) sought to create would look like.
Despite it being rather unclear how the island went from desolated to a fully-functional theme park we may never know, but what we do know it that the Jurassic World theme park is a wonder to behold, until the inevitable happens...
The plot follows two young boys, Zach (Nick Robinson) and his younger brother Gray (Ty Simpkins), as they head to Jurassic World courtesy of their parents who’re on the brink of divorce. Once the boys reach the island, they are greeted by their aunt’s assistant, despite their relative promising to meet them at the docks.
The boys go to meet their aunt Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) eventually, who says she’s too busy to show them around, so while the brothers ditch the assistant meant to be looking after them, Claire meets up with Owen (Chris Pratt), to ask him for his assessment of an environment built for a new dinosaur; a creature created within the labs of the park.
As you’d expect, the beast, known as the Indominus Rex, doesn’t seem to like being contained, and now the siblings, along with Claire and Owen, must find each other before finding a way to stop the genetically engineered dinosaur killing everyone on the island.
While this movie gives off the impression of a reboot, it is anything but. There are many references to the original films, including Doctor Henry Wu (B. D. Wong) working in the lab as he did in the original films; it is clear that Jurassic World is a new trilogy that continues from the originals.
This film is honestly quite brilliant; to take a rather old set of films and update it, while still holding the vision set up in the 90s is an impressive feat to accomplish. The movie has a clean refreshing feel to it, while still reminding you of how it all began many years ago.
Pratt is the star of the show and really leans into a more serious role, as opposed to his childish and comical character of Peter Quill in the Marvel movies. Owen is a charming and witty character, one that serves well to balance the somewhat annoying character of Claire.
As with many modern movies, you can’t have action and destruction without a little comedy; this film balances serious and tense moments with the wit of Pratt’s character, and the confused excitement of Claire’s nephew’s as they zap a raptor with a cattle prod, which is something that would probably cause anyone else to freak out.
Above all else, Jurassic World is simply a disaster movie but with dinosaurs rather than natural disasters, and while the magic of dinosaurs has perhaps worn off a little in this modern movie, it is still a brilliant film as the cinematography, animal design, plot and characters work together so well.
A negative that could be taken from this film is the inclusion of the Indominus Rex; many fans have said that the addition of this new dinosaur has taken some of the classic magic out of the film, as creatures such as the T. Rex (who dominated most of the original trilogy) aren’t shown in the movie that much at all. Despite this, it is still great to see new animals that never existed, and see the way humans will do anything to make money.
It is also great to have both a dino villain as well as a human one; Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) pushes right from the start to be able to use the velociraptors that Owen has raised from infants, for military purposes; this shows Owen’s high moral standpoint and begins the debate that will echo throughout the next two films: do dinosaurs have a right to live?
All in all, Jurassic World is a great film to continue where the 1997 feature left off. We now have new possibilities, and the tension is definitely rising as Jurassic World: Dominion, the final film in this universe, draws closer.
The panic, tension, comedy and action all bounce off one another in this movie, and it is a brilliant way to keep the old films alive.
Check out the trailer for Jurassic World below!
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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