You’d really think humans would learn not to genetically breed giant carnivorous lizards and then keep them in cages. If Jurassic Park taught us anything about humans, it’s that we never learn. I believe the reason the people in these movies keep repeating the same mistakes is the same reason we keep going to see the movies about it: Dinosaurs are the coolest ever.
Jurassic World seems to focus even more on dinosaurs and just how great they are. The entire first third of the movie takes us through the park at many of the different exhibits just as the park’s attendees do. Even when everything goes wrong, the dinosaurs start attacking each other almost as much as they attack the humans. This makes for a lot of great and memorable action sequences, including one in the climax that is way too good to be spoiled.
The problem with the focus on the dinosaurs is less attention paid to the humans of the film, who we are supposed to identify with. This is particularly weird because there are a lot of characters in Jurassic World, and it’s hard to identify one central protagonist. Attention is split between two young brothers named Gray and Zach, their aunt Claire, and Owen, the world’s first raptor tamer. They each have pretty one-note personalities, and their character arcs are flimsy and rushed at best.
Owen is easily the most likable of the bunch and played very well by Chris Pratt. If played by anyone else, this character likely would have been the generic grizzled white dude we see so often in other action movies, but Pratt uses his charisma and comedic background to give the character more humanity. The other three main actors do a good enough job, but there’s nothing particularly remarkable to speak of.
The biggest problem is really that there are just too many characters. It’s too much to try to keep track of while watching, and leads to apathy when someone does inevitably get eaten. Some of the minor characters could have easily been combined into one character that serves multiple purposes, instead of the numerous one-note characters that leave you wondering “wait, who was that?”
That said, Jurassic World does a great job of paying homage to its roots. There are numerous references to Jurassic Park, some overt and some subtle. The characters talk about the “incident” that happened at the first park 20 years ago, and certain settings and props from the first movie come into play as the story progresses.
Also noteworthy is the special effects and sound design. Both of these made the original Jurassic Park a modern classic with effects that still hold up today, and Jurassic World follows in those footsteps. I doubt there’s any scene in Jurassic World that will ever be as iconic as a rippling cup of water in the first movie, but it still has lots of memorable moments and excellent suspense in some scenes. Just as Jurassic Park scared the crap out of thousands of kids, I’m sure Jurassic World will do the same for a new generation with a few truly frightening scenes.
Overall, it’s a mixed bag. Jurassic World excels in its action scenes, particularly the ones which involve multiple dinosaurs. But it suffers from some tonal inconsistencies with oddly placed jokes in otherwise serious scenes, and a distinct lack of character development combined with way too many characters for us to care about many of them.
Jurassic World doesn’t have Alan Grant or Ian Malcolm. We don’t get to hear Jeff Goldblum’s weird laugh, and no one gets to say “woman inherits the earth.” Jurassic World is a lot of fun to watch, but it’s still inferior to Jurassic Park, and not just for nostalgia’s sake. Jurassic World lacks the humanity that the characters in Jurassic Park brought. This is a movie you see strictly for the dinosaurs, which are awesome. Because dinosaurs are awesome.
3.5 out of 5 stars
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Joel Wallick is currently pursuing a degree in film studies at Bowling Green State University with a minor in creative writing. He has been gaming since early childhood, beginning with Pokemon Silver. Follow him on Twitter @SuperNerdJoel.
