A hybrid of numerous intentions

Rating: 7/10 (8 August 2015)

This is one of the most divisive movies that I've seen in a while. It's one of those "Love it or hate it" where everybody has such intense feelings for it. I think that's because there are two main ideas of what a Jurassic Park movie should be. Is it a cerebral franchise that illustrates the hubris of humanity's attempts to control nature or is it just a fun monster movie romp with thrills and chills? I guess that's up to the audience so I won't tell you how you should judge the movie on those standards. I'm just going to judge it from your basic movie going perspective.
Let me just say that all the dinosaur fights were fun, I almost always laughed at the comic relief, the story was easy to follow with generally believable character motives, and it moved at a nice pace. Some of the acting was pretty good. Chris Pratt was a fun character, and probably the best thing going for this movie. I do have complaints though: Vincent D'Onofrio's character was entirely one-dimensional, the CGI just isn't always convincing, and there are a lot of moments throughout the film that just strain your credulity. I realize it's a movie with dinosaurs come to life but it was a bit much at times. It even has a number of monster movie clichés that make the movie a bit predictable.
I enjoyed my time with the movie, but it wasn't always as tense as it could have been. I guess if you judge it as a monster movie, it's fine. In all honesty, the plot felt like a Syfy original monster movie, only with a sizable budget and bankable actors - that's not entirely as bad as that sounds. If you're looking for something intellectually stimulating that forces you to think about the human condition, you might have a little meat, but you're going to be left hungry. Your enjoyment boils down to what you expect from the franchise.