Illustration by Jeremiah Moon
I worked at the movie theater when they did the 20-year anniversary celebration of Jurassic Park and re-released the original classic into theaters, both in 2D and reformatted 3D. We had large crowds of people dressed in Jurassic Park gear, little kids with dinosaur action figures, and other enthusiasts flood in. I talked to kids about what their favorite dinosaur was before they went in (Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus) and what it was after the movie (invariably the T-Rex). Jurassic Park was a cultural phenomenon and remains to this day highly enjoyable, remarkably genius, and really a stunning tour de force that still looks incredible twenty years later.
A lot of this is due to the energy of Steven Spielberg. Part of it is because of the heavy use of animatronics, practical effects, and the understanding of human psyche and what Spielberg did to draw suspense. Almost all of the dinosaurs we see are from the efforts of special makeup effects wizard Stan Winston and visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett (of the famed "you had one job" meme). When shown a test run (literally a T-Rex walking around) for CGI by a duo that claimed they could make it look authentic, Spielberg fired them on the spot (Tippett promptly called them "extinct").
Admittedly, CG has come light years in the past twenty years, but it goes to say something when we see the first example of CG dinosaur not twenty seconds into Jurassic World and it looks faker than anything in the original movie.
Jurassic World takes place 22 years after the original events of the first movie, and we see the park as expected: a booming infrastructure that boasts crowds, prehistoric attractions, and corporate sponsorship up the wazoo. Unfortunately, sales don't appear to be stable, which is why the director approves the creation of a hybrid mega dinosaur that has combined aspects of classified dinosaur breeds. Of course, the park and its employees fall prey to the inevitability of human error, and the dinosaur escapes to wreak havoc on the park.
Jurassic World is a fun romp that appears more plausible than Lost World. Nothing can really capture the sheer movie magic of the original, but World fortunately doesn't try for the most part. There's nothing there that really brings genuine chills: any scares feel just about as contrived as the monster dinosaur the park creates. There wasn't a moment in the movie that I felt genuinely concerned. And for all the silly gallivanting the movie produces: Chris Pratt hunting with raptors, Bryce Dallas-Howard running in heels, it's unable to tap into the joy that Jurassic Park is supposed to evince. It's impossible to not see a parallel from the original movie and park to the current movie and park. One has all the wide-eyed wonder and raw nerves while the new one is jaded and false. Jurassic World admirably tries a new formula, but it's not one that works particularly well. Half the fun of the original was seeing how ordinary people react when thrust into extraordinary situations. Pumping out a Chris Pratt who is supposed to be a trained and highly capable hero-figure doesn't help us relate to his character or feel particularly worried when he's running from dinosaurs. Also, the number of people that are able to outrun dinosaurs in this movie is nothing short of astonishing.
For all that, it's a light summer movie. It's surprising the movie didn't draw on more nostalgic factors, especially considering that the record breaking numbers at the box office were supplemented by those emotions. Some of the best parts of the movie actually are seeing how far the park has come and what has been implemented to keep it running smoothly. The movie is fine, but hardly seems to hold enough for future sequels. Director Colin Trevorrow makes the jump from smaller independent fare (Safety Not Guaranteed) to this one as part of what seems a recent trend for large projects being handed to small-time directors, but there wasn't enough there to signify that his touch was significant.
A lot of this is due to the energy of Steven Spielberg. Part of it is because of the heavy use of animatronics, practical effects, and the understanding of human psyche and what Spielberg did to draw suspense. Almost all of the dinosaurs we see are from the efforts of special makeup effects wizard Stan Winston and visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett (of the famed "you had one job" meme). When shown a test run (literally a T-Rex walking around) for CGI by a duo that claimed they could make it look authentic, Spielberg fired them on the spot (Tippett promptly called them "extinct").
Admittedly, CG has come light years in the past twenty years, but it goes to say something when we see the first example of CG dinosaur not twenty seconds into Jurassic World and it looks faker than anything in the original movie.
Jurassic World takes place 22 years after the original events of the first movie, and we see the park as expected: a booming infrastructure that boasts crowds, prehistoric attractions, and corporate sponsorship up the wazoo. Unfortunately, sales don't appear to be stable, which is why the director approves the creation of a hybrid mega dinosaur that has combined aspects of classified dinosaur breeds. Of course, the park and its employees fall prey to the inevitability of human error, and the dinosaur escapes to wreak havoc on the park.
Jurassic World is a fun romp that appears more plausible than Lost World. Nothing can really capture the sheer movie magic of the original, but World fortunately doesn't try for the most part. There's nothing there that really brings genuine chills: any scares feel just about as contrived as the monster dinosaur the park creates. There wasn't a moment in the movie that I felt genuinely concerned. And for all the silly gallivanting the movie produces: Chris Pratt hunting with raptors, Bryce Dallas-Howard running in heels, it's unable to tap into the joy that Jurassic Park is supposed to evince. It's impossible to not see a parallel from the original movie and park to the current movie and park. One has all the wide-eyed wonder and raw nerves while the new one is jaded and false. Jurassic World admirably tries a new formula, but it's not one that works particularly well. Half the fun of the original was seeing how ordinary people react when thrust into extraordinary situations. Pumping out a Chris Pratt who is supposed to be a trained and highly capable hero-figure doesn't help us relate to his character or feel particularly worried when he's running from dinosaurs. Also, the number of people that are able to outrun dinosaurs in this movie is nothing short of astonishing.
For all that, it's a light summer movie. It's surprising the movie didn't draw on more nostalgic factors, especially considering that the record breaking numbers at the box office were supplemented by those emotions. Some of the best parts of the movie actually are seeing how far the park has come and what has been implemented to keep it running smoothly. The movie is fine, but hardly seems to hold enough for future sequels. Director Colin Trevorrow makes the jump from smaller independent fare (Safety Not Guaranteed) to this one as part of what seems a recent trend for large projects being handed to small-time directors, but there wasn't enough there to signify that his touch was significant.