Sequel the classic deserved

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 2015)

Quickie Review:
After the events of Jurassic Park, 22-years ago, Isla Nublar now hosts the original vision of a functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World. To keep the public interest and raise the visitor rates, the corporation engineer a new breed of dinosaur, Indominus Rex (I-Rex). Meddling with genetic research once again puts the park and people in danger when the I-Rex breaks loose. Jurassic World while not living up to the Spielberg's classic, stands strong on its own merits. The new I-Rex is a great new addition to the roster of scary dinosaurs and the CGI is very well done. There are some sub- plots that don't fit well, but the overall story is a thrill ride with both horror and action. Jurassic World is a great summer- blockbuster monster fun.
Full Review:
While I was looking forward to Jurassic World, the trailers left me only cautiously optimistic. I had quite a few doubts about the movie: genetic splicing of different dinosaur species, trained raptors, over-reliance on CGI. It all seemed too different from Jurassic Park. After watching the movie all my apprehensions were thrown out the window because different is exactly what Jurassic World needed.
Let's start with the star/villain of the movie, I-Rex. The perfect word to describe her is terrifying. The sheer size of her in every aspect, jaw, feet, claws, if you saw her running towards you, to quote the movie "The kids? This will give their parents nightmares." Which is perfect! Because that's an essential part of what Jurassic Park was, a horror. It's not just the physicality of the dinosaur but the way she moves, thinks, and takes advantage of her spliced nature that added a lot to her being an insurmountable threat. A lot of the dinosaurs were CGI even for close-ups but it never pulled me out of the movie. The computer visual effects were very well polished, and I am saying that as a huge fan of practical effects where possible. In fact, the dinosaur designs were so well done I'd say they had more personality than most human characters in other movies.
Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard were also very good in the movie. As much I loved Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy as Star- Lord, I didn't want him to play the same character again. Luckily he doesn't and still is a badass. He showed that with the way he interacted with the raptors and the way he'd improvise to get out of a difficult situation. I'd like to reassure you that the way the raptors are trained makes complete sense in the context of the movie. They are still dangerous animals, not completely tamed, so their scenes with Pratt hold a lot of tension. Pratt and the rest of the cast including the kids Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson are not completely humourless. There are some good jokes here and there that keep the movie from becoming completely dreary.
There are few small issues I do have with the movie but the subplots in particular is what bothered me the most. This is the second time in two weeks there is a movie with a divorce subplot. But the way it is handled in Jurassic World is even worse because it never really affects the story or the characters significantly. There are also other story arcs that are not executed well and so feel out of place. I can't say much else without spoiling the movie but if these subplots were trimmed off, Jurassic World may have been a more well- rounded film.
I have to say I really enjoyed my time with Jurassic World. Like for many others Jurassic Park means a lot to me, it's the first Hollywood movie I remember from my childhood. Director Colin Trevorrow did an excellent job in honouring the classic while introducing us to something new. When you watch the movie, you can tell this was a movie made by a fan (a very talented one too) for the fans. By the end of the movie I was applauding it. So if you have your doubts like I did, go watch it, because I'm sure it'll surprise you.
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