Let Us Prey

Rating: 7/10 (12 June 2015)

(Rating: ☆☆☆ out of 4)
This film is recommended.
In brief: Dinosaurs again prey on humans in this enjoyable but very predictable installment.
GRADE: B
Chomp! The sideshow has finally arrived...once again! Thrills await! Step right up and see heroic derdoings! Gaze at the reptilian marvels on display before they are unleashed to the masses wreaking havoc on their prey. Watch damsels-in-distress flee from the monstrous hordes of wizardly lizards. (And man, can she run in high heels!). Witness scenes of spectacular state-of-the-art CGI. The media circus is here as the summer movie season descends with Jurassic World literally leading the pack for your attention and enjoyment.
It has been 14 years since the last dinosaur outing of the Spielberg trilogy. This latest installment is not directed by him but he was involved in its making. Now, solidly directed by Colin Trevorrow, Jurassic World doesn't earn its rightful pedigree like its more original and innovative source, but it qualifies as delirious sloppy seconds in its earnestness to create scares and its ability to entertain.
There is no sly wit, no clever banter, no memorable set pieces (like in the classic kitchen sequence with the Raptors in the original Jurassic Park). It just one chase scene after the next with no character development in sight. But the action is good and somewhat suspenseful. The dinosaurs are real and lifelike, especially compared to their human counterparts.
Chris Pratt takes on his Indiana Jones role with much charm and bravado. Bryce Dallas Howard has the thankless stereotypical role of the icy career woman who will thaw out once she gets her man. Vincent D'Onofrio is all caricature, a cartoon villain and nothing more. Only Nick Robinson, Judy Greer, and Jake Johnson bring some nuance to their one-dimensional characters. Basically, the rest of the actors are just pawns to a weak script. They are there solely as appetizers for the scaly inhabitants of the island. The biggest shock is that this screenplay-by-committee was created by a quartet of writers (including the director) who were all unable to bring any depth or logic to this lamest of stories. The set-up is so formulaic from all of its other versions, even down to its incompatible couple and two children in peril.
At best, the film lampoons our insatiable need for "more" thrills and targets our self-serving theme park mentality of instant gratification. Yet in so many scenes, product endorsements with the likes of Coca-Cola, Pandora, and Mercedes-Benz become glaringly blatant and lumber in gargantuan proportions that rival T Rex.
One character in the film aptly states about the public's taste for entertainment, "We want it bigger and louder...and with more teeth." That may sum up our movie-going appetite as well. This upgraded fourth generation of dino-thrills may certainly possess two of the former descriptive terms, but it's in the latter category in which the film has no bite. Jurassic World, while still fun, is a bit toothless.