Jurassic Park (1993) broke a barrier in film making and astonished audiences world-wide. Its following sequels did not hit the same mark. Finally, 22 years later, we are back to the park. This one brought us all back to the original island, Isla Nublar. Things are done a tad bit differently now. The park (called Jurassic World) is monitored more closely and folks have so many attractions. The visitors are even allowed to get out with the dinosaurs and for the kids, there’s a petting zoo.
Unfortunately, ticket sales have dropped and they need to create new breeds of dinosaur to entertain the masses. One in particular is the vicious and fearless Indominous Rex. Even more unfortunate, the I-Rex escapes its pen and causes all sorts of mayhem. Alas, that is just the beginning of the chaos that follows for the remainder of the film. Another dino that makes its first appearance in the series is the Mosasaur. I won’t give out too much detail, but this one steals each of its scenes.
Chris Pratt stars in a role that is a similar, more grounded version of Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. He has his humorous moments but plays it extremely cool. His role in this is a trainer for the Velociraptors. He has four under his wing and they treat him with respect as a dog would its owner. The raptors even made me slightly antsy to get home and see my own dog, but that’s a Shih Tzu and nothing like a velociraptor. That feeling didn’t last, as there wasn’t a moment in this movie that the viewer’s eyes aren’t glued to the screen. One of the antagonists, as we learn right away, is Vincent D’Onofrio’s character, Hoskins. D’Onofrio can do no wrong in my book, and boy, do you get to hate his character.
Bryce Dallace Howard plays Claire. She is the always busy, no-nonsense director of the Jurassic World theme park. Her character takes the most drastic journey from workaholic to a nurturing auntie for her nephews who have just landed on the island. Nick Robinson personifies the every-teen character who isn’t even interested in the dinosaurs as much as he is his smartphone. His younger brother, Ty Simpkins, is the dino-nerd who can’t contain his excitement at every corner of the park. Impressively, the acting and characters keep you into the story for the full two hours. I challenge someone to pick out a dull moment in the film.
As for the emotions of the movie, I will say that nostalgia played the biggest part. This is mostly due to the fact that most folks today over 28 years old were able to view the original in theaters and be brought to tears, laughter, excitement and fear throughout. This film not only brings back those feelings, but brings in the excitement to see some of the original items (my lips are sealed) from the 1993 film. As for those who didn’t get to experience the original in theaters, GO SEE THIS FILM! This is going to show you exactly what it was like. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a movie where the whole auditorium gave a standing ovation.
In my theater, there was a family with a 9 year old girl and she kept covering her eyes from the very beginning. This started off the excitement and the nostalgia that was to come for the next two hours. I recall doing the same thing 22 years ago when I saw the first one. It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions 22 years ago and in 2015, the creators of the Jurassic Park series did it all over again. I can’t recall the last time I squealed like a little school girl... Well, yes I do, but that’s a different story.
If you see one movie this summer, see Jurassic World.
If you see two movies this summer, see Jurassic World twice.