Jurassic World

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 Jurassic World 
Like any other boy in his younger years, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I knew the main ones of course, such as T-rex, Triceratops and Brontosaurs and I was aware of a whole bunch of others ones with complicated names I couldn’t pronounce. And my fascination with these giant reptiles that lived millions of years ago was multiplied 1000 times when the original Jurassic Park movie came out in 1993. At the time, I knew who Steven Spielberg was and that he made good movies. Any movie with special effects in it was a must see, but as the trailers for this film emerged, special effects took on a whole new meaning. Gone were the days of relying on “The Land Before Time” film series to get an on-screen dinosaur experience; there was a new film in town, that was so convincing in its special effects, the dinosaurs looked real. I told my parents I wanted to see Jurassic Park more than anything. It looked amazing and I knew every other kid at school would be going to see it. 

In the winter of 1993 when the film premiered around the world, my mum was working for a small social services agency in our home town. Every couple of months or so, they organised a movie night. And lucky for us, the next movie night would be Jurassic Park. I was beyond excited. I remember going with my mum, dad and a couple of my sisters. We entered the theatre, which was full to capacity. Sitting somewhere in the middle section, the lights were dimmed, the audience went silent, and the words Jurassic Park appeared on screen with haunting music playing in the background. The opening scene, involving an unseen dinosaur in a cage that grabs one of the workers, scared the crap out of me, but thrilled and amazed me at the same time. Little did I know what else was in store for us. 

Two hours later, we emerged from the theatre and the place was a buzz. I was a young 11 year old who had just witnessed movie history being made. The dinosaurs I just saw on screen were so real, so convincing and so terrifying, I actually felt queasy. My stomach was feeling funny, and I couldn’t get the images out of my mind of the giant brontosaurs grazing through the fields of the park, or when Dr. Grant (Sam Neil) touches the triceratops and rests against its body as it breathes in and out, and of course the moment that blew everyone away – when the Tyrannosaurs Rex escaped it’s compound and terrorised the young brother and sister in the car. Wow! It was part horror movie, part adventure, and all together incredible. After the movie, my mums work had put on some food and drinks for the families in attendance, so we could hang around and talk about the film. I approached the table and saw a plate of chocolate biscuits, but after taking one look at them I felt ill. I couldn’t eat them. Not because I hated chocolate, but because the biscuits were in the shape of dinosaurs. I had just experienced enough dinosaurs for one night thanks. 

Over the coming years, Jurassic Park played on many more times in my life, as we hired out the video on several occasions, and watched it on TV. Then in 1997, Steven Spielberg announced we would be returning to Jurassic Park, kind of. 

“The Lost World: Jurassic Park” came out four years later, with the character of Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) returning. Set on a different island, called Site B, where the dinosaurs were born and allowed to roam free before being taken to the main island, the story this time focuses on a rescue mission. From the looks of the trailers, the special effects were better, the action was bigger, and the dinosaurs were meaner. There would be two T-Rex’s, plenty more raptors and new dinosaurs we hadn’t met yet. I was now 15, so didn’t have the same queasy feeling upon exiting my first viewing of The Lost World. And for what it was, the film was pretty good. It didn’t have the awe and wonder of the first film, but the dinosaur action was awesome. 

Another four years passed, and word emerged of a third Jurassic Park film. Featuring the character of Dr. Alan Grant once more, the second sequel in the series seemed to be too much too late. Eight years prior, seeing dinosaurs on screen was an event not to be missed, but now it seemed audiences were bored with it, and with a shorter film, annoying characters and lacklustre story and action, “Jurassic Park 3” came in and out of our lives without much hassle or staying power. 

Given a trilogy had been made, it seemed that the days of dinosaurs on screen had come and gone. But in the past ten years, as Hollywood began returning to its well of original ideas, and going into remake overdrive, rumours begun to surface, likes dinosaur bones being unearthed, that another Jurassic Park movie was still a possibility. Over the years, bits of news emerged here and there. Michael Crichton, author of the original two books, said he would be involved on some level, but when he passed away in 2008 it was then announced a fourth film wouldn’t be made out of respect for the creator of the franchise. But that gesture was short-lived, as in 2011, art work appeared on line apparently created for the upcoming Jurassic Pack IV, which showed a half-human, half-dinosaur abomination. It looked wierd and fans of the movies shouted their disgust online. Those rumours were quickly dispelled by Steven Spielberg who in that same year announced another Jurassic Park movie would be made, and he would serve as an Executive Producer as he did on part three. 

With the advances in special effects taking another leap forward with 2009’s Avatar, the bar was set even higher and the filmmakers involved wanted to prove that people being chased and eaten by dinosaurs could be scary and fun to watch again, and “Jurassic World” was announced as coming to cinemas in 2015.

So there’s your back story again, hope you liked it. Now it’s time for the actual review. I felt it was important to tell that story of the first three films, because like most others I loved the first film, kind of liked the second and was disappointed in the third, then moved on believing we would never see another Jurassic Park movie, which I was okay with. But when the first trailers came out for this latest instalment late last year, I was taken by surprise and had my hope restored that the upcoming sequel could restore my faith in the series and be a return to what made the first one so great. 

Going into the theatre to see Jurassic World was a somewhat iconic experience. I felt like that 11 year old over twenty years ago seeing the first film, filled with awe, wonder and excitement. And after seeing the new film this week, I must say I wasn’t let down. 

Directing duties this time were handed over to Colin Trevorrow; not a huge name to most movie goers, but that’s set to change now. With directing credits under his belt that resemble smaller and independent films, the director handles his first blockbuster with confidence and craft. The filmmaking skills on hand are first rate, giving Jurassic World a very modern, and polished look about it on screen, and with some nifty cinematography (which I imagine would work well in 3D) you do feel like you’re in Jurassic World. 

The story this time, takes us back to where it all began, the island of Isla Nubar. The site of the original Jurassic Park which never opened because of the events that took place there. But ample time has passed, the dinosaurs have been rounded up and the park is in full operation. It does well, welcoming an average of 20,000 visitors at a time to the resort style location. Complete with five star hotels, fine dining, a monorail that circles the park, and cutting edge technology and interactive exhibits. The park is overseen by Claire, a young, workaholic who doesn’t mess around. Her two young nephews, Gray and Zach will be visiting the park for the first time. Also based on the island, is Owen Grady, the parks go-to-guy and dinosaur wrangler, if you like. He specialises in the care and “training” of the Velociraptors, of which there are four. He has worked with them since they hatched from their eggs, earning their respect and teaching them to listen to his commands. And somewhere on the far side of the park, locked in a small confinement, is the latest attraction; a genetically modified creation called the Indominous Rex; part T-Rex, part raptor, and part everything else, to make a unique super predator. The park’s owners are hoping it will revitalise the attraction and get visitors more interested in dinosaurs again, after they’ve become bored with seeing the same ones.  

But in the truest fashion of this series, the humans must once more learn that all important lesson for the fourth time - people and dinosaurs were separated by millions of years for a reason, and giant reptiles who live to eat won’t be contained or controlled by tiny people. 

As you can guess, the film follows our characters as they are hunted, chased and eaten by the Indominous Rex for the most part, who out wits them at every turn, with its high intelligence and nifty tricks of adapting into its environment. But the interesting turn here, is the fact the ever popular raptors are not out to get the humans, but rather work with them. From the trailers and commercials doing the rounds at the moment, you’ve seen the moment in the film where the character of Owen (Chris Pratt) rides through the jungle on his motorbike with the raptors running alongside him like a man jogging with his dog. It looks cool and when you see the movie, it makes perfect sense. That’s the impressive feature of this film overall; obviously it had to wow audiences again with scene stealing moments and reinvent the old trick of people running away from dinosaurs. And it does this creatively and cleverly, with a storyline that makes sense and doesn’t assume the audience is dumb. 

Another theme the film covers well, is the issue of how desensitized and passive humans have become in today’s world, in relation to getting bored with things so quickly and how nothing surprises or amazes us anymore. That is the problem the park owners face here, as even though the park plays host to many dinosaurs that interact with humans like a petting zoo, it still isn’t enough, hence the creation of the new dinosaur. And as movies goers ourselves, we’ve all seen Jurassic Park at some point in our lives, as well as many other creature features and special effects on screen that are now so realistic we forget that we’re watching special effects at all. The need to use our imagination and ignore obvious special effects is gone, as the filmmaking wizards of today can transport us to a time and place that cannot be faulted in terms of its execution and similarity to the real thing. In saying that, I wasn’t bored by Jurassic World, as it makes dinosaurs on screen refreshing and new, capturing the magic of the first film effectively. 

Overall, Jurassic World is reliable entertainment. Sure, there are some clichéd blockbuster moments, but it’s fun, exciting and clever at times. In its early development stages, it was rumoured this film would kick start a new trilogy in the series. The way the plot goes and the nice little touch at the ending tell us we haven’t seen the end of the dinos yet. And a possible title for a sequel? Well in keeping in line with the second instalment, how about “The Lost Park: Jurassic World”. Makes sense right? 

 

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