Effective as a monster movie but not much deeper than that

Rating: 7/10 (22 June 2015)

There is a moment in the original Jurassic Park - probably my favourite moment in the entire movie - when Dr Grant and Dr Satler first arrive on the island and see the dinosaurs for the very first time (along with us as the viewers). It is a moment of wonder and awe at the sight of dinosaurs on film. We in the audience can relate to what the characters are seeing for the first time. There are no moments like this in Jurassic World but I am not sure that there can be such moments at the sight of dinosaurs on film any longer. Jurassic World seems to acknowledge this - in the film the visitors to the park are becoming tired of the same old dinosaurs, which prompts the scientists to create a new dinosaur. It's as if the producers felt the same way about their audience. Indeed there does seem to be something self-referential about this movie. And I did quite enjoy the moment when one character points out that they can charge $7 for a soda pop...kinda made me look down at my drink at that moment. It is hard to decide if a line of dialogue like "Verizon presents Indominus Rex" is a satire of product placement or product placement disguised as a satire of product placement. i am leaning towards the latter and since I remember the line I guess I have to admit it was effective. I enjoyed a lot of this movie - the climactic dinosaur fight scene between the T Rex and the I Rex with the raptors was a lot of fun. And I loved the new Mosasaurus. The acting was believable and I thought that Bryce Dallas Howard was a particular standout. Some of the dialogue made me cringe at times but it's all in the fun of a monster movie. A lot of the special effects are impressive too, though I found the CG lacking on occasion, especially with the non-predators. I think they were saving their CG budget for the big bad dinosaurs. So as a fun monster movie this succeeds. As a comment on our society, I'm not sure it works as well as it would like. And as a successor to the first movie, I am missing the sense of wonder. But maybe this movie is right - maybe that is not something I can get again 3 sequels later.