Being a dinosaur fan, I couldn't NOT go see "Jurassic World". Spielberg creates such magic, but.
But. Oh, those 'buts'.
"Jurassic Park" was toe curling schmaltz. Not that some of the scenes weren't terrifying...who could forget those kids being hunted by a velociraptor in the kitchen?
But ...it was those kids. Such icky kids. The girl inexplicably using a flash light to tell T. Rex just where to find them. Demonstrating a precocious ability to snap a sabotaged security system back to obedience with a few keystrokes when the experts couldn't. Asking if a brachiosaur (sometimes called "brontosaur") was a 'veggie saurus". Oh, please. It is to gag.
The adults weren't much better. None of the acting in "Jurassic Park" (with one exception) was what you could consider "good". I have to tell you, I don't like actors who act like they're acting, and the "Park" series was nothing but. Add to that Spielberg's insistence on his cast doing the 'slack jawed amazement' gig. It's almost a trademark of his...if the movie has kids and adults looking at amazing things, he shows them with their mouths open. Now in real life, people seeing an apatosaurus would say "wow" or "holy shit", but they WOULD say something and otherwise keep their mouths shut.
Add to "Park"s series woes was the cast of unbelievable characters. The mathematician whose presence in the movie made no sense whatsoever. The silly ass field assistant to the paleontologist, knowing all about diseases in triceratops. (not to mention making goo goo eyes at him, knowing she'd convince him to make lots of babies with her.) "John Hammond", the creator of the eponymous Park, was poorly cast. Acting as the avuncular grandfather, he struck me as a dimwitted fool.
Even the cartoon character portraying the animated DNA strand was unbelievable, with that phony southern drawl. If I ever hear 'dinosaur' pronounced "dyna sour" again, I'll throw a rock through the TV.
In casting villains, though, Spielberg excels. "Park"s bad guy...the obese asshole IT who tried to steal the embryos, was so perfectly cast...(and perfectly acted) that I saw the actor later in a totally different role and immediately remembered that he was killed in "Park" by a pack of little dinosaurs who's name I cannot remember. That's ACTING.
The sequel to Jurassic Park was so unbelievable as to be totally forgettable. Yes, there was at least ONE sequel...it involved releasing a 'mother' T. Rex in what, San Francisco? Los Angeles? No, no, no. It didn't work. That was just a replay of "Godzilla" but not so well done.
But. I didn't go to see "Jurassic Park" for plot. I went to see dinosaurs, and I wasn't disappointed.
As an aside, when it was first published, I read the original book, "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton. I was fascinated by the concept, but, as was the case for his other novels, he didn't do his subject justice. He had a blockbuster concept and fumbled it. Badly. I seldom read novels anymore, when I do they have to be on par with James Clavell. In Cricton's "JP", I finished it and thought, "I could have done this much better." I'm not an egotist. I've never published a fictional novel. But I know I could have written it better.
With "Jurassic World", though, Spielberg redeemed himself...and his dinosaurs.
I believe I read that Spielberg handed off much of the actual production/directing to a protege. That person did an incredible job.
"Jurassic World" is a far better movie than any of the "Parks". MILES better. Entire leagues better. If you'll pardon the irony, world's better.
The acting was far crisper, better done, and there was very little if any 'slack jawed amazement'. The kids were two believable boys, one a hormone challenged teen and the other his younger brother (who needs a haircut.) When the younger one showed fear, it was believable. He was CRYING in terror. The bad guy was not so icky as the one in "Park" but was still so obnoxious that you couldn't WAIT for what you KNEW would be his denouement...and you won't be disappointed.
"World's" plot is tighter, better conceived and well performed. It makes sense. Unlike "J. Park's" icky scenes, "World's" could be real life...BUT for the crowd scenes. They consisted of healthy, able people. The "21,000' visitors to the "Jurassic World" were all healthy people. There were no fat people, no old farts on walkers, no women pushing their kid in a stroller, no wheelchairs. When people panicked and ran, there was no stampede, no people falling down and being trampled, as would happen in real life.
Another problem was the female lead. She was portrayed in a slinky white dress and white high heels. She spent most of the movie running, jumping, leaping, climbing and even driving a truck in them. Any woman watching the movie will tell you that a woman can't even trot in high heels. This costume decision didn't work, Mr. Spielberg. Any woman watching the movie will tell you that heels are NOT athletic shoes.
With all that being said, the special effects...the dinosaurs...were incredible. I read somewhere that in "Jurassic Park", the total screen time for dinosaurs was SIX minutes. Six!
In "World", you get a WHOLE lot more of dinosaurs. They look real, although now we know that the raptors and T. Rex were were feathered.
Many of the scenes were genuinely gruesome. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw people bringing toddlers in to see the movie. The family behind me had an INFANT, no more than six months old.
No. "Jurassic World' isn't for little kids. Yes, I know. The dinosaurs are extinct. Kids love dinosaurs. These days (as my spouse reminds me) kids are exposed to all sorts of things on TV and the movies...murders, shootings, slashings,car wrecks, explosions, rape.
Sadly, the gruesome scenes were not so graphic as some stuff I've seen on TV. But they were still graphic..and disturbing. To see the expressions and hear the screams of a man as he's being disemboweled by a velociraptor, was just too much, even if it was portrayed on a 'television monitor'. To see a woman killed by pterosaurs, in half a dozen ways...drowning? bitten? breaking her spine? is nightmarish. Hearing her drown was dreadful. The character didn't have it coming.
That's the only spoiler I'm going to provide. The climactic scene will surprise the daylights out of you. You WON'T see it coming.
I knew that the movie has broken all records in the amount of money it's taken in less than a week. I didn't even attempt to go on a weekend. First weekend of screening and school is out? I'd never even find a parking place, never mind a seat in the multiplex. I thought, I'll go on a Tuesday night, 7 PM, and won't have to fight the crowds.
Wrong. oh my gosh, WRONG. The 7 PM was sold out. I managed to snag a ticket for the hastily added 7.20 screening. The next one was going to be at 8.40.
When I got out of the theater, I saw the theater management had added THREE MORE screenings while I was watching the movie. Three. Holy cow. And I'm sure they were sold out, as well.
Thumbs up for "Jurassic World'. It's a vast improvement.
