This return to the land before time is great fun, if slightly unremarkable

Rating: 7/10 (11 June 2015)

While there's certainly a lot to enjoy about this latest dino filled popcorn adventure, any number amount of cool ideas and concepts that director Colin Trevorrow and his team have come up with cant help hide the fact that Jurassic World just doesn't have the "wow" factor moments that made our first journey to this universe such a blast on release in 1993 and in the ensuing years following.
Jurassic World doesn't have any ripple in the water moments, the white knuckle tension of a kitchen full of velociraptors and there are no ingenious moments like poor old Newman being discovered in the safety of a toilet block, and when the star performer of your film is a dinosaur called Blue, Jurassic World pales in comparison to its beloved original but did we ever really expect that to not be the case? It could actually be argued quite strongly, that World is in fact the second best movie of the 4 film franchise.
With an empathise on fun and a wealth of huge ideas, World feels relatively short and sharp compared to most other recent bloated blockbuster tent poles and while a large portion of set pieces in the film feel underwhelming and slightly undercooked the film's final 15-20 minutes will be a sure fire hit for fans of the franchise and those keen to get there dinosaur laden destruction fixes on. Colin Trevorrow and his 3 fellow screenwriters also understand the importance of recognising the work that was laid before them and there are neat homages throughout this picture to the foundation Steven Spielberg built, from a visit to a very recognisable visitor centre through to the return of BD Wong as Dr. Henry Wu, the legacy of Jurassic Park looms large over the picture yet thankfully never overshadows this much shinier product.
Much was made about World's look when trailers started hitting the internet and many fanboys were outraged at what looked like some highly shoddy CGI work but it's with great pleasure I can say World is one of the more spectacular visual popcorn films of some time. The quintessential dinosaurs look fantastic, the Island of Isla Nublar looks splendid and overall the film looks about as polished as you could hope for. With our dinosaurs on point, it's also helpful that our main cast members work well together and while Chris Pratt has virtually transplanted his Starlord persona to a park working, ATV riding hero of the hour, his still a very easy to like presence and shares a good rapport with the always good Bryce Dallas Howard. The human big bad of the piece Hoskins played by Vincent D'Onofrio is a bit of a stumble for the film and his appearances often feel unneeded and distracting in an other wise frequently moving adventure, but luckily the monster big bad is all types of menacing if not quite up the original T-Rex's greatness.
Likable and enjoyable without ever reaching grand heights, you wouldn't call Jurassic World overly memorable but it's certainly worth the price of admission for all those seeking adventure, no matter their age. With some hugely impressive visuals, a fantastically designed theme park full of prehistoric wonder and with a mostly likable cast, Jurassic World offers us a great excuse to journey back to the island that wowed us so all those many moons ago, just don't expect to be left with the same feeling received from our first trip to the land before time.
3 and a half Jimmy Fallon safety videos out of 5