Oh boy does this have some huge expectations to meet. The original 'Jurassic Park' was one of the very few films I've ever given a perfect score due to the film making you feel like a child at every available opportunity, and complementing that with a sensible and realistic storyline that required minimal fuss to enjoy. The next two entries in the franchise were huge disappointments in comparison to the original, and so it's left to this long awaited fourth entry to build on that starting formula, hopefully veering away from a generic action flick. On the surface the changes look promising. The name for example no longer follows the linear pattern of simply numbering the films in chronological order, and the setting returns to Isla Nublar, an iconic setting that will be familiar to fans of the first film. I don't quite understand how they managed to successfully open a world leading theme park when the previous version ended horrifically in a series of well publicised events, but then this film never explains that along with many other pieces of important information in what is essentially a very simple storyline, which is a bad omen for later on.
Aside from being very basic, the plot actually serves as a clever metaphor for the modern film industry. The idea is that at one time the mere sight of a tyrannosaurus-rex would scare whole families shitless, but now that time is over, and moviegoers are looking for something more thrilling and unpredictable to force them to part with their cash. That new attraction in the world of 'Jurassic Park' is the 'indominus-rex', who like the metaphor would suggest is a gargantuan construct of multiple prehistoric and present organisms to create the ultimate carnivore. It's a very clever metaphor really, but it mostly serves to produce a terrifying monster that once again gives 'Jurassic Park' that 'wow' effect that the original gave us all those years ago. 'Jurassic World' doesn't do things halfheartedly, and unlike its predecessors gets stuck into some violent and gory scenes that make the original look like a kids film in comparison. The computer generation that can now be used only emphasises these prehistoric constructions, although I still would prefer that raw enthusiasm of Richard Attenborough in the original instead of some pleasing computer models.
Once you get past the clever metaphors and strong themes you actually arrive at a plot that for a blockbuster is very standard. That worked wonders with the original, but that film didn't feel the need to add backstory family rubbish that ends up going nowhere. This family relationship bollocks is totally irrelevant to the actual premise of the film, and when that premise is beautifully constructed dinosaurs it ends up feeling completely hopeless. The beauty of the original was that just simple family relationships complemented the plot of the film without trying to dominate the whole atmosphere of the plot, thus feeling artificial. In 'Jurassic World' the various side stories end up as fake as the dinosaurs themselves, and that really hurts the first thirty minutes of the film. I genuinely thought after the first third of the film that this would be a shambles that took the emphasis away from the dinosaurs. That would be a suicidal move when you have a range of characters that I haven't been given a reason to care about, and in a way this negative prophecy did come to fruition, only to be saved by the mesmerising sight of some attractive dinosaurs.
What a creation the indominus-rex is. I'm glad the focus was shifted on to this terrifying beast.
'Jurassic World' ended up feeling like a film of two halves. At the halfway stage something just suddenly clicks into gear and the characters suddenly stop becoming annoying and simple stereotypes of generic human beings, and actually become interesting and witty. For some reason comedy that should never work in a film that takes place in the 'Jurassic Park' series suddenly becomes a welcome addition with actors such as Chris Pratt taking to his role as the slick protagonist to carry the strongest part of the film. It's a quite extraordinary turnaround that even sees the once frustrating characters of the first stanza become relatively likeable. Director Colin Trevorrow must have finally listened to the legendary Steven Spielberg at about the halfway stage, as the focus shifts towards some high impact moments that require very little complexity to understand. That in a way reminds me of the original film, but then so do a lot of elements in a film that likes to remind viewers of its rich heritage. Fans of the series will recognise faces such as Dr. Wu, as well as iconic dinosaurs and props from the original park. Are they used with the same effect? Well not really, times have changed, unfortunately leading to these little nods to the predecessors becoming as forgettable as the supporting cast.
However the thing that bugs me is that the things audiences are remembering are coming under a lot of scrutiny recently for features that I would describe as trivial. The main issue that many feminists, social justice warriors and brain-dead morons have in a film where genetic manipulation is abused, resulting in hundreds of deaths, is that the female protagonist in the film wears high heels throughout all of the intense action sequences. Oh god no, that's just ruined the whole film for me. If you're complaining that a film gives a businesswomen high heels to wear then you really are a special kind of stupid. Despite the fact that the majority of businesswomen wear high heels to work it's apparently inconceivable to some that a character made to be as realistic as possible would indeed wear high heels to work. I'm not quite sure how that's sexist or offensive to anyone, but apparently that's justified in diminishing this movie's status as a piece of art. The decision for the female protagonist to wear high heels probably wasn't a practical one, but why does that fucking matter? Previous 'Jurassic Park' films have had competent female characters in abundance, so why is this installment being bashed around when the gender roles are finally reversed?
Oh no. The thing that upset me the most about this intense action sequence is how this female protagonist is sexualised. Just look at her in that commanding role; fucking disgusting.
But it's not the poor character relationships or the public outcry over an insignificant detail that piss me off most about this film. No the thing that I just couldn't accept was that the central themes of this film were repeatedly shoved in my face at every available opportunity. I get that greed and trying to play nature isn't great for society, but can't I have a balanced argument about a pressing issue like in the first film. The original had cleverly drawn out characters that would force you to question both sides of the argument, but in 'Jurassic World' there is no other side to the argument. At times it feels like a documentary that has an obvious message in a similar fashion to say the controversial 'Blackfish'. But this is a fictional film, and so the themes should be implied and never forced to distort the experience of the viewer, which I think is the case here. You soon forget about the wonder of living dinosaurs when the whole cast is calling for the death of 'unnatural' individuals, and unlike in the worlds of Steven Spielberg and Victor Frankenstein we never get a deep and inspiring look inside a being that shouldn't exist; instead getting a list of reasons why it shouldn't. This for me is where the film starts to feel like a corporate whore, with vile product placements all over the place and a lack of care when it comes to finer details of the plot, never becoming deep and meaningful at any stage. That really annoys me, as if this film was created with a bit of passion it could seriously rival the original.
Oh look at that huge Mercedes logo in the middle of the screen. It's almost as if someone is making a ton of money out of this. So much for the passion.
Eventually this adrenaline pumping action flick ends with a very well executed, but poorly explained finale. The finale sums up a film that seemed to forget a whole load of vital information for the sole reason of getting more money making dinosaurs onto the screen. Key details that directly affect the plot are just brushed over without giving any reasons for doing so. As a viewer we're never given any information about the velociraptor's changing allegiance, or why the mososaur decides to leap out of its cage at convenient times, and even how a tyrannosaurus rex can run slower than a woman wearing high heels when it could keep up with a Jeep in the original. I'm not asking for an ultra realistic film, but the plot in some places is all over the place, which shows a lack of care. Thankfully this is never the overriding impression you get when watching what is a cracker of a film with breathtaking sequences, coming at the expense of a massive clusterfuck that never even attempts to sort itself out. The film does try to be intelligent on occasion, and I appreciate that, but the final product is just the primal entertainment of watching monsters and men ripping each other to shreds in a 'PG' fashion. I thought it was great.
Yeah that cage looks totally safe. How the fuck is this theme park allowed to operate?
Don't get me wrong, I loved 'Jurassic World', but at times it felt like a money grabbing sequel that filmmakers will squeeze every possible penny out of this legendary and important license. 'Jurassic World' is a film that if it ditched the first half hour would be a great action film, but still not finding the heights of the original due to losing that Spielberg magic. This is a film that will annoy you in places, and a film that fails to find that realistic and enthralling adventure of the original. It's a film that sacrifices a lot for a greater revenue, but for the first time in many years I can finally say that I thoroughly enjoyed a 'Jurassic Park' film that can stand on its own two feet.
Final Score: 8/10 ****
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