Let your nine year old self rejoice; dinosaurs are back! That’s what “Jurassic World” proved this summer breaking the record for the highest box office opening weekend ever on its way to becoming the third largest grossing film of all time. The record breaking performance was unexpected, given that the film is, at times, largely unspectacular.
Another of the summer’s many reboot sequels, “Jurassic World” escalates the premise of Jurassic Park in the perfect way. This time the park is open. It’s been open so long that attendance is dropping off, people aren’t satisfied with the same old dinosaurs.
This leads the park’s scientists to genetically engineer a new dinosaur, it seems unlikely that they stopped to think if they should, and of course it escapes and wreaks havoc on the vacationing masses, which is unfortunately just the start of a needlessly confusing plot.
Jurassic World is, a by the numbers, summer popcorn blockbuster. Huge action set pieces that don’t have any relation to the plot or actual suspense. They just serve as road bumps, slowing the protagonist’s progress in reaching the end of the movie.
What’s odd about the film is that there is a character, Lowery (Jake Johnson) whose entire character is explaining to the audience that the original Jurassic Park was “legit” compared to the new version. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this is the filmmakers’ referencing the original movie’s superiority.
In fact, multiple characters speak meta-dialog bemoaning their bosses constantly asking for larger thrills and more “teeth.” It doesn’t feel genuine when “Jurassic World” then transitions into an unnecessary special effects heavy actions scene.
All of these issues are excusable, but the biggest slight against “Jurassic World,” the most unforgivable thing this movie does, is waste the talents Chris Pratt, as well as every other actor, but mostly Chris Pratt! Easily one of the most charming and funny male actors currently in Hollywood, is left acting each scene as stiffly as possible.
“Jurassic World” does what it sets out to do just well enough, and shows no desire to change the formula for blockbusters that have proved so successful in the past. The formula makes for a dumb but incredibly watchable movie, one that will surely be repeated for the next several installments of the Jurassic series.
