When will they ever learn? Sure, the idea of mixing living, breathing dinosaurs with a theme park sounds like a lucrative can’t-miss idea. But three movies have proven that it leads to nothing but disaster (and a boatload of box office cash). The Jurassic Park franchise has laid dormant for 14 years so it shouldn’t be a big surprise that this sequel and reboot driven movie era would usher in a new installment. What made it an easier decision was the fact that all three of the previous movies did extremely well at the box office. So Universal Studios greenlights a $150 million budget and the result is “Jurassic World” – a poster child for safe, crowd pleasing, summer popcorn flicks.
“Jurassic World” recycles several things from the first film except this time things are a little cheesier, motivations are a little goofier, and many of the people are a little dumber. But that doesn’t mean the film is short on big cool dinosaur moments. There were times when I literally laughed and shook my head at the corny dialogue or stereotypical character. At the same time there were several scenes where I found myself absolutely thrilled at the action or the spectacle on the screen. It’s a conflicting mixture of good and bad which makes my final thoughts on the film hard to nail down.
Chris Pratt is everywhere these days and in “Jurassic World” he stays within his ‘likable, everyday guy’ comfort zone. He plays a velociraptor trainer named Owen working in the Jurassic World theme park. He’s joined by a plump cast featuring Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire, the park’s director of operations, her two nephews (and obligatory kids) Zach and Grey, B.D. Wong as the park’s chief scientist responsible for creating the dinos, Irrfan Lhan as Simon, the owner and bankroller of the park, Vincent D’Onofrio as the sleazy, shady Hoskins, Omar Sy as Owen’s buddy and fellow trainer Barry, and a host of others.
Basically the story places all if these characters on the island park each with their own little threads of story. For example Claire has agreed to keep her nephews for the week even though she is too busy at the park to entertain them. The boys have the baggage of a possible divorce between their parents back home. Claire had a brief ‘thing’ with Owen in the past but that’s long gone. Now he is butting heads with Hoskins who wants to use Owen’s velociraptors for nefarious purposes. Simon has noble intentions but his demands for bigger attractions open the door for his aggressive science team to do some pretty questionable experiments. And on and on and on. Rarely do any of these subplots leave an impression, but they set the table for the movie’s main attractions – big dinosaurs.
One thing “Jurassic World” does well is presentation. Visually the world we see is vast and filled with impressive creatures and cool landscapes. The dinosaurs themselves look great. Their movements and the way they blend into the world almost allows the audience to completely forget the heavy CGI behind it. I was also impressed by the design and feel of the park. The rides, exhibits, and attractions were well thought out and genuinely believable taking elements from everything from Sea World to Disneyland. Overall the film is just as visually strong as you would expect, and those going for the wild dino-carnage will not be disappointed.
But I can’t say the same if you’re going into “Jurassic World” hoping for an engaging story. At its very base level the story gets by, but there are plenty of other things that simply don’t work. Again, the characters are pretty one-dimensional, stereotypical, and forgettable. We aren’t given anyone to latch onto. Some are just flat-out bad. D’Onofrio’s Hoskins may be the prime example. The performance isn’t great but the way he is written is even worse. Then there are turns in the story that are too stupid to let slide. I won’t spoil anything but certain evil plans we see are beyond preposterous. Then throw in some incredibly cheesy dialogue and scenes which actually had me laughing and shaking my head in the theater.
So storytelling isn’t the strong point of “Jurassic World”. In fact, the writing keeps it from being the intelligent, engaging film that it could be. But at the same time I actually found myself entertained in the way that big budget summer popcorn flicks sometimes manage to pull off. The visual spectacle, the dinosaur fights, the theme park environment all work to immerse you in a really cool setting. It’s too bad the underwhelming story, narrative hiccups, and bland characters drag it down to passable but forgettable levels.
VERDICT – 3 STARS
keithandthemovies.com 
I’m right there with you on the story Keith. This was a poorly done story, merely window dressing for just the spectacle of big(ger) dinos. I actually took more umbrage to the fact that it copied almost verbatim Jurassic Park. Some call the shots where Bryce Dallas Howard is waving the flare to lure the T-Rex away a nostalgic moment. I called it a bit lazy. I won’t say any more for fear of revealing too many spoiler-y moments but man, this was a huge disappointment for me. Looks like itt was a bit of a letdown for you as well. .
It would qualify as a letdown for me mainly because the story is just flat and the characters flatter. And some of the story is just ridiculous. I had several eye rolls during my watch.
Truth be told, I really liked the angle with Chris Pratt’s character training the raptors. I thought that was interesting and well done. My biggest complaint with the movie are the painfully obvious references to the original movie. I understand one or two references, but you’re hit over the head time and time again that this is a sequel to an immensely superior film. It doesn’t do anything to really distinguish itself from the rest. The kids are irritating, dumb decisions are being made, and the whole don’t f**k with nature bit is getting a bit old. The story was definitely, meh… Chris Pratt is the person there that’s actually worth anything, in my opinion. That being said, seeing dinosaurs on the big screen again makes my inner child squeal with excitement. Dinosaurs are still awesome.
Dinosaurs are awesome and that was the saving grace for me. I thought the raptor training was okay but it was the the angle that followed with D’Onofrio that just too much for me. Not an awful movie but I couldn’t help feel it should have been better.
D’Onofrio’s character was more less, your typical corporate sleazebag. Also, not enough in the way of actual practical effects, like they used in the original movie.
D’Onofrio was your typical, cookie cutter slimeball. He really didn’t work for me. Such a poorly written and poorly conceived character.
Not only that, the kids were annoying as hell. I loved Lex and Tim from the first movie, but the kids in Jurassic World? Please get eaten. That’s what I was thinking the whole time.
LOL!!! They truly are bland and utterly forgettable. They felt like obligatory characters that the filmmakers felt compelled to include. They weren’t interesting and you knew exactly how their storyline was going to play out. Yawn!
I feel like the only person in the world who hasn’t seen this yet, but I’m finally going tonight. I’m really looking forward to it, but for the cheese, action and dinosaurs. Definitely not expecting anything more!
Great review 🙂
– Allie
Thanks Allie! I think if you keep your expectations reasonable you will have fun with this. I’m not a huge fan of the franchise so I wasn’t expecting anything glorious. Ultimately I’m glad I saw it especially since my son had such a good time with it.
I’m right with you Keith. This is pretty much exactly what it was supposed to be…stupid fun.
I have definitely seen a lot worse. But it does get a little frustrating when you know the movie could be better.
Nice review Keith. I couldn’t help but feel this was a glib rehash of the original Jurassic Park, but inferior in almost every way. It was entertaining at parts, but lacked any real originality or innovation to make the movie exciting.
This is pretty typical blockbuster mush. I liked the shallower visual spectacle, but the story was totally forgettable. It had its share fun but it doesn’t stick with you at all.
I’d agree w/ your rating here Keith, it’s nothing special, esp when you compare it to the first film. It’s a big dumb fun but the more I think about it, the more issues I find w/ it.
Hey Ruth. I see where you’re coming from. It has had absolutely no lingering effect on me. Nothing that has stuck out as remotely great. Nothing that has made me feel the need to see it again. That’s a shame.
same with first film, only time and cgi changed. nothing special, some cool scenes maybe. and that t-rex…
—spoiler—
u cant get down t-rex in one minute fight. we love t-rex, dont let your noob hybrid dino get him.
—spoiler—
You’re right. Way to similar to the first film and certainly nothing special. It had good moments but not enough of them.
The kids were dreadful. One of the film’s many flaws for me. There were plenty of holes in the story, but I really did feel I was in Jurassic World so that’s why I did enjoy it as a popcorn movie.
The kids were annoying, uninteresting, and useless. Absolutely nothing about them was remotely interesting. But you’re right, the atmosphere was really impressive.
Yeah, I pretty much agree with you. Never was too big on the original movies, so this one was ok and was a fun ride while it lasted.
Pretty forgettable overall but it does have its moments. I’m kinda like you, the original films are fine but I’ve never considered them a favorite franchise by any stretch.
Your mixed description reminds me of “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”, the only JP sequel I’ve seen (and that movie wasn’t much of a recommendation for future films).
Funny you mention “The Lost World”. My son had me DVR it a few nights back. I haven’t seen it in years and don’t remember a thing about it.
Having rewatched The Lost World, I take back my negative comments; I now quite enjoy it.
Just watched Jurassic World, and also enjoyed that.