Jurassic Park was the first film to really scare me. In that dark cinema, I spent most of the film with my head in my mum’s lap trying to hide from those damn Velociraptors in the kitchen. Still, I was only six.
Now, over twenty years later, we’re after bigger thrills.
And so are the attendees of Jurassic World, the dinosaur theme park that’s now
finally open. What better way to achieve this than by creating a brand new
dinosaur, the Indominus Rex?
It all begins with cinema’s most irresponsible parents, who
send off their two sons to the park to be looked after by their aunt Claire,
the operations manager of the park who proceeds to leave the kids in the
incapable hands of her assistant. But then, this is a film all about
irresponsibility: scientists playing at God by messing with genetics, and a
woman failing to keep control over her park or her family. However much humanity
may try, we cannot control nature – unless, of course, you’re Chris Pratt.
The plot, then, is utterly silly with gaping plot holes
bigger than a T-Rex’s jaw span. How this theme park was allowed to exist
without basic safety measures is incomprehensible. Then again, the Jurassic Park series has always been
more of a thrill ride than a serious scientific exploration and Jurassic World is more of a family film
than ever. Having Chris Pratt as the lead only cements this, his comedic
tongue-in-cheek acting style suiting the film’s tone even if he’s mostly
reduced to macho action hero. Too often the action implausibly stops for some
sort of quip when there really should be a little more urgency, yet this is a fun piece of blockbuster all-round entertainment that’s far from realism.
It might be mindless, but it’s equally tense, seat-gripping
stuff. The usual set of raptors and a T-Rex are already suitably frightening,
let alone combining them into the powerful Indominus Rex. The dinosaur might be
a make-believe monster whose genetics conveniently advance the story, but it
still allows for some exciting (if predictable) set pieces. It’s a
rollercoaster ride fitting of any theme park.
Above all, though, this is a film about nostalgia. Jurassic
World is, quite literally, built on Jurassic Park. When the two boys stumble
upon the old Visitor Centre, its T-Rex skeleton now a crumpled heap on
the floor, it’s a powerful moment for those of us who grew up with the previous
three films. Many ideas from Jurassic
Park are repeated here, including some specific shots (the two boys in the
gyrosphere obviously parallels the two children from the first film being
attacked by the T-Rex in the jeep), though it certainly helps to bring the series
back to its roots whilst kickstarting it for a new generation. When the camera
pans over the island and its majestic inhabitants to the sound of John Williams’
glorious theme tune, Jurrassic World still
has the power to wow.
3/5
Watch: Jurassic World is
out now.
