Movie Review: Jurassic World

Well, it finally arrived. The movie I have been waiting years for and a place I have been hoping to re-visit. If someone were to ask me what my favorite movie of all time is, I would respond Jurassic Park. Although I was barely two years old when the original film came to theaters, I would often watch the VHS throughout my childhood (and would squeal to my mom to come sit with me whenever I knew the t-rex was soon coming out.) Jurassic Park’s sequel, The Lost World, was the first movie I remember standing in line for. It felt like something special, and even though that film (along with Jurassic Park 3) didn’t live up to the amazing standards of the original, there are few films that give me that wonderful childhood tingliness. 

So going into Jurassic World, I had expectations, but I knew that it was not going to come close to how I felt about Jurassic Park…and I was right. Instead of Ian Malcolm, Alan Grant, and Ellie Sattler, this story focuses on Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Chris Pratt.) John Hammond’s dream has been fulfilled, and Jurassic World has been operating on Isla Nublar for 10 years. With park attendance declining, the scientists create an entirely new dinosaur breed in the hopes it will cause excitement at the park again. Obviously this leads to mass mayhem and destruction, with Claire and Owen ultimately saving the day. The plot is pretty predictable, and the genuine fear and subtly the first film had is not here, but the original park is not forgotten, as there are numerous little connections.

I wish we could have had a backstory about how the park got to this point, and maybe a bit more time exploring the park before everything falls apart. I did not find the characters as memorable as the originals (except for the awesome team of raptors), but thought the actors did a suitable job with what they were given. The t-rex in the film is also supposedly the original (the one I had to get my mom to protect me from when I was a kid) and they definitely should have done a better job clearly pointing this out (especially since we don’t really get to see her until the final act.) Negativities aside though, the film is a fun ride and a worthy sequel. When the memorable music swelled and the audience gets their first sweeping view of the fully-functioning park, I teared up. The kids in the film (played by Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson) also stumble upon the original visitors center, where they find the famous night vision goggles and Jeeps, also gave me tingles.

I feel like my rating of  Jurassic World will fluctuate with more viewings (and as my brain finally sorts through everything in the movie), but the nostalgia was enough for me to really enjoy the experience. I will be excited to see what they do next with the story…and will continue to secretly hope we get to see a few of my favorite original characters pop up once again.