Jurassic World **** (2015, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Judy Greer, Vincent D’Onofrio) – Movie Review

Bryce Dallas Howard (aged 34) stars as Claire, the frosty, workaholic manager of Isla Nublar’s fully functioning, operational dinosaur theme park called Jurassic World, as envisioned by John Hammond in Jurassic Park (1993) 22 years ago.

After 10 years of the park’s operation, the public are beginning to get jaded with dinosaurs and visitor rates declining, so to boost visitor numbers, owner Masrani (Irrfan Khan) has ordered scientist Dr Henry Wu (B D Wong) to create a new attraction – a hybrid dinosaur – a plan that of course backfires scarily.

And it backfires just when a couple of pesky kids – Gray (Ty Simpkins) and his older brother Zach (Nick Robinson) – are packed off to the park by their loving but less than caring mom (Judy Greer). Their estranged auntie Claire is supposed to be looking after them, but she’s too darned busy and self-obsessed, and palms them off on an assistant. Luckily the boys can pretty much look after themselves!

Into the mix there’s also the villainous Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio), whose agenda is gonna prove fatal for a whole load of folks, Lowery (Jake Johnson) and Vivian (Lauren Lapkus) at the park control panels, and nice Barry (Omar Sy), who is bringing up dinosaurs. If you add Andy Buckley as the boys’ dad into to mix, though he has zero to do, that’s just 12 characters.

Oh, sorry, I’ve forgotten Chris Pratt, who has the starring role as park man Owen, a kind of Indiana Jones character [give him the role in the reboot, guys!] who is the voice of reason and the action hero centre of the adventure. Pratt is top billed, though Bryce Dallas Howard has the main role.

Pratt is looking good in the running and jumping departments but he is battling against plain dialogue and the requirement to play a totally cardboard cutout character. He has about three amusing lines of dialogue in a mostly serious-toned movie, so there’s no room for him to sparkle and twinkle, like he does in Guardians of the Galaxy.

[Spoiler alert] The self-described alpha male, he remains strong and solid, while, of course, the frosty heroine thaws, and becomes an action heroine, tackling monstrous dinos and saving Pratt and the kids too. Stuck in high heels for the whole movie, the heroine has a bit too much to do and the dinosaur-empathising, voice-of-reason hero too little, certainly too little good stuff.

The kids, by the way, have set off on their own in a glass bubble just when the dinos are attacking, the park is closing and the island being evacuated. And, bright though they are, they ignore warning and just keep going into the dinos’ den. Yea, right! Even righter, they get out of all this monster trouble all on their own, and find an abandoned Jurassic Park truck from 22 years ago and getting it going again to drive to safety!

Director Colin Trevorrow’s movie has plenty of running and screaming, and loads and loads of neatly CGI-ed dinosaurs. Lacking character, credibility, originality and style, it plays like a video game. But it’s fast, brisk, noisy and efficient – and fun. It does what its says on the tin and gives good value.

For kids the age of the two boys who have never seen a Jurassic movie – and it’s been 14 years since Jurassic Park III – it must be a marvel. But for everyone else, there’s no beating the original Spielberg movie. But then there wouldn’t be, would there?

Chris Pratt (35) is filming the Western remake The Magnificent Seven (2016), with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke.

Bryce Dallas Howard’s godfather is Henry Winkler, who co-starred on Happy Days (1974) with her father, Ron Howard.

Nick Robinson is best known for his starring role in the critically acclaimed The Kings of Summer (2013).

The sequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, releases on 6 June 2018 (UK) and 22 June 2018 (US). In February 2018 it was revealed that Universal Pictures is already making plans for a third installment of the rebooted series.

Jurassic Park ***** (1993, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough) – Classic Movie Review 178

The Lost World: Jurassic Park **** (1997, Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Richard Attenborough, Pete Postlethwaite) – Classic Movie Review 363

Jurassic Park III **** (2001, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, William H Macy, Téa Leoni) – Classic Movie Review 362

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2569

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