Dinosaur Mayhem with a little Nostalgia Here and There

Rating: 7/10 (15 June 2015)

Anyone who remembers seeing "Jurassic Park" as a kid for the first time knew they were going to see the promised dinosaur extravaganza "Jurassic World", no matter how good or bad it was. Luckily, I'm happy to say, the film was entertaining and it gave fans a little bit of what they always wanted to see: An opened and functional park that goes from being a dream to a nightmare! The story begins with two young boys - Gray (Ty Simpkins) and his older brother Zach (Nick Robinson) - on their way to Jurassic World as special guests of their aunt, park curator Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard). But, as you can probably guess, this isn't the best time for them to visit because soon, the park's new attraction, the genetically created Indominus Rex, will break loose and create, in the words of Dr. Malcolm, "the essence of chaos." With the the help of raptor whisperer Owen (Starlord himself, Chris Pratt!), does the group stand a chance?
Lets start with the good. As someone who loved dinosaurs as a kid, this film delivers some of the best dinosaur action in years! The Indominus Rex is awesome looking, and as you probably know from the previews, this isn't your grandfather's T-Rex. It's highly intelligent, can camouflage, see in fared, and is something you don't what to come across (All the more reason why we should just go ahead and create it!). As the main villain of the film, the Indominus works as a constant and credible threat to the characters. Another dinosaur plus is the introduction of the sea reptile, the Mesosaurus, something that was never included in any of the previous installments. As for acting, I'd say everyone here did a good job, though the human star of the show is Chris Pratt. Channeling the cocky energy of his character from "Guardians of the Galaxy", Pratt provides some of the humor relief as well as a center of sanity in an insane situation. So much so, Pratt does a good job making you believe his character is capable of actually training raptors. Bryce Dallas Howard also gives a decent performance of the uptight Claire (Some have said her performance was forced, but I thought it was okay) as does Vincent D'Onofrio as Hoskins, a man seeking to use the raptors and Indominus as military weapons (What do you think the chances are of that succeeding!). The two kids here are okay, and at least they're not annoying enough that we want them to get eaten. It also helps that the filmmakers include a little nostalgia here and there, whether it's the cameo of Mr. DNA in the visitors' center, the casting of B.D. Wong in the role of Dr. Wu (the only actor to appear from any of the previous films) or seeing the remains of the old Jurassic Park and one of those old Jeep Wranglers.
As for bad, there were some parts of the film that felt kind of forced, such as in the beginning when they were playing the theme music and trying to capture the magic from the first film but didn't quite succeed. Another issue concerns the level of CGI used. Anyone hoping for some animatronic action will be disappointed, as their is only one scene that features it. While some of the dinosaurs looked good in CGI, such as the Indominus and the raptors, on others it looks a bit cartoonish. Case in point, the T-Rex. Supposedly, this is the same T-Rex featured in the first film but you wouldn't know that by looking at it! The thing doesn't look anywhere near as cool and threatening as it did in the first one, particularly because its head looks a lot smaller and is poorly drawn. For all the money put into this film, you'd think they could have done a better job with it. Another issue is the lack of explanation as to how and why the park managed to be reopened. We know that the park has been open for about ten years but the film doesn't really give much background plot, something that I was really hoping to see. All in all, while "Jurassic World" is entertaining, it doesn't have quite manage to create that feeling of magic or awe that the first and even the second one were able to create, a magic you can still feel no matter how many times you watch them. Never the less, the movie is a big improvement over the third installment - which I don't think was quite as bad as some people said but no where near as good as the first two - and in the end, that's all we can ask. Either way, no matter how you feel about it, the movie's going to make a boatload of cash. If you're looking for some dinosaur fun and maybe even to capture some nostalgia of being a kid again, "Jurassic World" isn't a bad way to do it.