In Review: "Jurassic World"

The latest installment of the Jurassic Park series is a simple reminder that the world of horror has changed. What people thought was cool and scary 22 years ago doesn't cut it anymore. But that doesn't mean that we should throw it in to please the people. The original movies worked because of the type of scary that was used. It was more than a dinosaur movie. It was a dinosaur movie that made you scream for your life and the lives of the characters who were about to be breakfast.

The Story

Someone made a dinosaur theme park -- again! (Seriously, when will these people learn!) The last three movies have happened, but everyone in this movie seems to think all three incidents were fluxes and would never happen to them.

This time, we have a full-fledged Disney-World-like park with a luxury resort and tons and tons of victims... uh, I mean people. Bryce Dallas Howard (Hilly Holbrock from "The Help"- you're welcome. It took me the whole movie to figure that one out) is one of the top producers of the film, who is far from the animals and close to the numbers. Then we have a raptor trainer Chris Pratt who is all about communicating with the animals and working as allies rather than mortal enemies. Bryce's nephews come to visit her and stay at the park, exploring all of the seemingly safe ride (like a giant hamster wheel next to stampedes of triceratops. How is that NOT dangerous?)

In order to get more people coming to the park and make more money, owner Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) tells his team of scientists including Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong), from the first movie, to make the next greatest thing in dinosaurs. The team creates a monster dino with every predator capability you could think of. And what happens? Well, the monster escapes and madness ensues.

The Stars

Chris Pratt can only go up from here. Since his starring role as the Star Lord in "Guardians of the Galaxy", Pratt has become the action heartthrob. This movie just proves how well he fits into this genre. Though I wish he would've had a few more funny one-liners, he was so suave and cool in the crazy madness. And there are talks of him being the next Indiana Jones? I'm all for it.

Bryce Dallas Howard did a great job in her taking-care-of-business female counterpart role in the film. She had a little bit of attitude and moved toward the maternal nature after she got some serious whining out. The one thing though- the shoes. No woman in her right ride would run away from dinosaurs in high heels. I know it makes her look like a bad-ass but come on. Now way.

The Message

The new installation does turn several nods to the original film- the kids end up in the abandoned main hall of the first film, we see the original Jeeps, merchandise. This movie knows that it's not the original, and all of the money and fame that it will have has almost everything to do with the fact that the first movie did so well. And there is a final battle scene that just further proves the original is better than the remake. Which I very much respect.

There are some very dark shadows in this movie to critique the act of watching the movies themselves. I was both disgusted at what I was watching and disgusted that I was watching. These people go to this imaginary park to see dinosaurs locked in a cage and devour their lunch. Lots of gore and guts. To me, this is appalling behavior. People made money to see a goat die. People paid money to get splashed by a fish dinosaur after it has eaten its breakfast. And I, as a moviegoer, paid money to go see a movie about people dying. It's an interesting look into this new genre of horror and the need for blood, not suspense.

Overall

The story is not new. The character archetypes aren't new. The dinosaurs themselves are not new or exciting (some really missed opportunities there), but really, what did we expect? This movie has been done three times already, what else is there to do with a theme park with dinosaurs in it? I think the goal of this movie was to try to bring the dino love to the next generation. I honestly don't think that will happen with this movie.

It's a movie for the parents to show their kids and then introduce them to the real meat- the original films. It's a gateway movie, if you will. And as a gateway, it can never compare to the original and only tries to. But it also is not substantial enough on its own.

1 out of 4 Raptors