There's no more danger in the new

Chris Pratt chills with a motorcycle in a scene from "Jurassic World." Copyright Universal Pictures.

Of the several missteps “Jurassic World” takes toward mild entertainment, the brassiest and most regrettable is a direct challenge to “Jurassic Park” amid a pair of grand symbolic gesture. “Jurassic World” would be an OK movie if it hadn't thrown the proverbial gauntlet, but going after the big dinosaur is a mistake, and the resulting comparison creates expectations “Jurassic World” can't possibly meet. The two may be dinosaurs, but they’re leagues apart along the evolutionary scale.

Calling the titular theme park a world is a stretch, although it is a rather large island and the same one the action from the first film occurred more than 20 years ago; it even includes a pair of familiar faces in B.D. Wong's Dr. Henry Wu and a cameo by Mr. DNA. Everyone else is brand new, which helps explain why nobody learned the lessons wrought from the first time John Hammond tried to build this park. Hammond has passed on, leaving new owner Masrani (Irrfan Kahn) and park manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) in charge of a facility with more than 20,000 visitors a day and a plethora of manufactured dinosaurs. The batch of dinosaurs includes a pack of velociraptors (seriously, didn’t anyone learn anything from the first film?) handled by professional trainer/requisite badass Owen (Chris Pratt) and his partner Barry (Omar Sy).

Surprisingly (or perhaps not), the original dinosaurs become a little boring for park visitors – as Howard puts it, “No one's impressed by a dinosaur anymore” – so Wong and his team create a new dinosaur, the Indominus rex, to drum up business. It's a stupid name for a dinosaur (a point the film comments on) but the creature is big, mean, smart, dangerously amalgamated and anxious to cause as much chaos as possible to the island, and she gets the opportunity to do so when she cleverly escapes captivity. The timing is pretty terrible: Howard's nephews (Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson) are visiting and the nefarious Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) lurks in the background waiting for an opportunity to convert the velociraptors into military weapons. Dinosaur-related shenanigans ensue as Howard and Pratt search for the nephews and the new rex devours humans and dinosaurs alike. 

 

                                                        And the raptor squad too.

Elements of “Jurassic Park” are plucked and recycled to complete “Jurassic World.” Some of of the reuse works pretty well – John Williams’ glorious theme song remains intact and people are consumed frequently – although other parts probably should have remained in the recycling bin. A few shots from the original are given homages (think the side mirror scene from “Jurassic Park”) without the cleverness or thoughtfulness, and Howard's subplot with her extended family blends John Hammond's grandchildren with Alan Grant's parental storyline with the kids. Things get a bit mangled in the mixing though – “Jurassic World” chastises Howard's Claire for focusing on her career instead of starting a family, an indignity the rugged but charming Grant (played by Sam Neill) never suffered through. Grant also received a fair amount of quality time with those kids to make his transformation believable; Howard never has the time with her nephews to forge the same natural, emotional bond.

It's a problematic subplot, but one possible to overlook if the on-screen spectacle is impressive enough. “Jurassic World” does go for size and strength, making the dinosaurs bigger and faster than before and adding more potential victims for them to munch on. But the size doesn't encompass grandeur; there's nary a moment when the viewer can stare awestruck by the creatures’ pure impossibility because the dinosaurs are missing a dash of reality. The film relies far too heavily on CGI to create an unnatural majesty the original earned by combining digital technology with animatronics and the occasional costumed performer. 

                                                               Just like this.

“Jurassic World” lacks contrast: it lacks contrast with the technology, and it lacks contrast with a tone that puts more emphasis on comedy than fear. Much fun is had picking out the people most likely to be eaten and rooting for appearances by certain dinosaurs, but the moments intended to scare frequently elicit laughs instead. That's the one little trick “Jurassic World” didn't pick up from “Jurassic Park” – very few moments of safety exist when things go sour in the original, and the biggest scare of all takes place once things start going right again.

Review: Three out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 124 minutes

Genre: Action

 

Ask Away

Target audience: Apparently everyone.

Take the whole family?: A lot of people get eaten in this bad boy; best to leave the kids at home so they don't cower in the small, unsafe theater bathroom like certain children did during “Jurassic Park.”

Theater or Netflix?: If you do plan to go to the theater, don't pay extra for the 3D; the world depicted in “Jurassic World” isn't grandiose enough to earn it.

Still on board the Chris Pratt train?:  Very much indeed. The man formerly best known as Andy Dwyer again showcases some serious action-movie chops and finds the balance between levity and verve the film misses. He's a highlight of the film, along with bits between Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus and Vincent D'Onofrio's incredibly edible face.

Scrumptious.

Watch this as well?: Go rent “Jurassic Park” or stream it if possible. I'll also recommend “Lost World,” which is also a step down from the original but is worth watching just for the long grass sequence; God does that moment work so, so well.