Jurassic World brings a whole new entertainment factor to the movie going experience, not evolved, but engineered, much like the creature causing so much havoc in the film.
It’s engineered in the way that, collectively, the reboot is mostly remnant of it’s predecessors, containing many of it’s borrowed elements from not just the Jurassic trilogy, but the decade in which they were made. But Jurassic World utilizes these worn editing techniques and uniquely-strategic camera angles to bring you a better dinosaur experience. But it’s not just the normal Hollywood movie magic we’ve all seen before, there’s also the magic that radiates from the (human) characters and what they are able to bring to a reboot.
The obvious star of the film, Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) plays the caretaker, and friend, of the raptors. If you are thinking to yourself that suddenly the movie market feels slightly saturated with movies featuring this young star, then you aren’t alone. But in reality, it’s just the start of this guy’s career and you are just feeling the initial tremors, the epicenter if you will, of the quake Pratt is making in Hollywood. This is a good thing – just sit back, relax, and let Pratt work his magic on the big screen. That’s my new, accepting philosophy, and it’s proving to be advantageous. If you don’t think about it too much, Pratt just works. Be prepared to potentially see him play in many other reboots as your old favorite characters, maybe Indiana Jones, Twister, Jaws – not to mention superheroes and villains, animated or computer graphic voice overs, and maybe even back to television (True Detective season 3?). But he brings a lot to Jurassic World and is able to give it the freshness the sequels just couldn’t.
Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil, Criminal Intent) portrays the antagonist, a smugly militaristic authority figure whose ideals are constantly at odds with both the protagonist and the audience. Brilliantly portrayed by the typecast of the evil genius we see him play in Daredevil, instead of intuitive detective type we became familiar with in Law & Order. D’Onofrio’s character in Jurassic World is much like that found in Donald Sutherland’s character in the Hunger Games. Tragedy aside, this particular antagonist depicts an overall glib person who is willing to do whatever it takes to have it their way, regardless of any moral consequences. This plays well in Jurassic World, even though all the focus still falls on the dinosaurs.
There are plenty of morals to be drawn from the story. The one that stood out to me, was “everything in moderation” with the added implications of greed and dissolution being the end of us all. That’s all fine and dandy in hindsight, but you think there would have been some foresight into predicting something like this happening even as you are being pulled into the story. It also seems obvious that disaster is about to strike, but everyone in the movie is oblivious and despite the insanity that incurs, we seem to miss the significance of recognizing our beginning folly.
The intensity the beasts draw and the well done tech involved in making them do such that are by far the main reason to see this film. For some, the gruesome and bloody deaths caused by overly aggressive reptiles is basically required for there to be any entertainment value. It’s unfortunate there can’t just be a movie about dinosaurs where no one gets hurt and even though advancements in technology mean we can make any dinosaur, we maintain enough sense not to make any of the ones that would kill us unmercifully. But like the point made in the movie, it’s just unrealistic to run a theme park without bigger and better attractions; a tame dinosaur world that is essentially a petting zoo could not draw enough butts into seats at the theater and would never of had acquired the budget to make the dinos look any good anyways. The 3D is a LOT of fun in Jurassic World. As a kid, I used to think Dinosaur Adventure 3D for MS-DOS was visually thrilling. Now, my eyeballs are impressed with this reboot of the 90’s movie trilogy, which, looking back, was a trilogy made in an era when 3D was far from its potential and definitely lacking in the visual appeal that it allows for in present cinema.
I have to add, performances of the supporting cast were also very satisfying in how the story gets told to the audience. Bryce Howard Dallas, BD Wong, Jake Johnson, Irrfan Kahn, and the rest were invigorating to watch. And directed by Colin Trevorrow, a director with quite a short rap sheet for such a big-named reboot, definitely debuts his greatness for making the humans seem just as real emotionally as the dinosaurs seem aesthetically.
Go check out Jurassic World, the next great installment of dinos dominating the summer screen, out in theaters nationwide this weekend. And check out the trailer just so you know what you’re in for, though it pales in comparison with what the theater experience ultimately delivers:
