Jurassic World – Film Review
The Jurassic World Luxury Resort, located on an island in the Pacific near South America, is a man-made dwelling place for a variety of genetically engineered dinosaurs.
Over the years, the dinosaurs have become less and less exciting for visitors to the resort and interest in the resort, altogether, is declining.
But there is hope still. Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), the multi-billionaire businessman and CEO of the resort has funded the creation of a new monster; the exceptional Indominus Rex. But Indominus escapes and, once again, the lives of the visitors are in grave danger.
Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), an ex-military soldier, researcher and dinosaur trainer must now use his knowledge and skill to save the resort, as well as two brothers – Zach and Gray Mitchell (played by Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins) – who have wandered off despite instructions to return to the resort immediately.
Going in as a first-time viewer of the Jurassic Park movie franchise, I only had a miniscule idea of what to look out for. The title suggests something bigger and better than the ‘park’ that it originally was, and there are a couple of obvious references from one of the previous movies. I am guessing it is the first one. But if this movie is as wonderful as the title claims, I knew I could not go wrong by sticking with the biggest clues – its name and its genre – to judge my experience.
This live animal theme park spans an entire island. It really does seem as if there is no end to this amazing portion of the world, where large, prehistoric animals can really exist. “The whole idea of Jurassic World is to serve as a reminder of just how small we are,” says Masrani to Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard ), the park’s obsessively-organised operations manager and the aunt to the two brothers. And there is no doubt that the wealthy man has accomplished his goal.
As for the film as a whole; well, I was rather entertained, but it may have had more to do with me finding it rather difficult not to mock or comment on many of its scenes. Like any typical adventure film, time and time again, you watch people find themselves in sticky situations because they were doing things they just were not supposed to do.
Also, the movie is in 3D, and of course there is plenty of adventure going on on-screen. But as a viewer who had high expectations of a participative experience, I did not really feel the danger. Not to say that the film needs any more blood and torn up bodies, but the directors could have done more to engage the viewer in the action, especially if the film is 3D.
In other words, the moments when what happens on screen crosses over into the experiential world of the viewer, are disappointingly limited. Only once did I flinch from the shock of something flying towards my face. Therefore, there was no point, really, in expanding the budget and manpower to make this an adventure in 3D. If those glasses did anything, they actually just darkened the screen.
If you watch it with that in mind, I still can not guarantee that you will not be mildly impressed. However, if you are looking for a borderline lukewarm adventure with extraordinary features, you do not have much to worry about.
