A voyage back in time

Rating: 6/10 (27 July 2015)

Flashback: About 22 years ago, i sat at home with my aunt to play some card games. The reason behind it: my parents were out to watch a new movie: Jurassic Park. I, myself, didn't know anything about it. But that did change soon when the VHS came out (yeah, VHS...nowadays nearly as extinct as the dinosaurs...). I watched it over and over again. Dr. Alan Grant was my new hero, i wanted to become an archaeologist (which i didn't)and collect all kind of dinosaurs (which i kinda did back then).
Fast forward to now. When i first heard that another JP-movie would come out, i was excited. The premiere came, i read some informations, some reviews and so on, but it took until now for me to watch it. And now, i'm really unsure what to think about it. I expected a popcorn-summer-movie-blockbuster and kinda got it. There were plenty of well done and impressive effects, dinosaurs looked amazing (even if i personally prefer the ones from the first movie, but that's just personal taste) and the whole park with the big gate and all gave me nostalgic feel, reminding me of the first time i heard that marvellous theme accompanied by the breathtaking pictures of majestic dinosaurs so many years ago. But what was the old JP really about? Humanity crossing the borders of science, reaching territory it shouldn't reach. People taking money over reason, playing god and getting their comeuppance, from nature and from themselves. And unwilling, mostly innocent persons like Grant or the kids getting caught up with this and being tossed in a habitat they aren't used to, struggling for survival. Jurassic World reused this theme, which is not bad at all, but it was much more shallow. Scientist created a new killer dinosaur and it gets out. That's all. No Dennis Nedry who gets greedy and endangers all around him. It just gets out because standard security protocol is apparently "oh, there is a dinosaur bred to kill in the paddock, but i can't see it right now...well, before we try to use the implanted tracking device to find out where it is, let's send some people in there to look around" And when the I-Rex is out he goes around killing everything, more like a slasher villain than the dinosaurs hunting for food we were used to. And the human villain: I really like Vincent D'Onofrio. He is a good actor, especially when he's playing villains. But this time: A cliché-military man who wants to use the dinos as a weapon. I honestly didn't think i would see something like this outside of a cheap b-movie... Apart from this: why use dinosaurs as a weapon? In a real war, couldn't you just shoot theme like everything else? And wouldn't they be more expensive than a tank or a bomber or jet? But enough of that. What i really missed where the more peaceful scenes of the first few movies. In all three, after the action started, there were a few scenes that were much calmer to build up the story before there was action again. This time, after the i-Rex-breakout, every calmer scene is just a quick build-up for the next action sequence. Maybe new movies are like that, but i don't like it. Just a few scenes with Crichton-like dialogue to give a meaning to everything else or scenes with herbivores, to remind us that it is really nature and its balance everything is about, not an all-around war where everything kills everybody all the time. Another point is the pacing. Everything happens really fast. Nothing like the famous T-Rex-breakout from the first one with its masterfully done build-up from ripples in the water to shadows moving in the rain and so on. As a result there is much action, but little suspense. No subtle thrills, just blockbuster-action which is just not as memorable.
As for the actors: The stars are the dinosaurs. The human actors are much less important without any depth or anything you could call character development. First of all there is Chris Pratt as the motorcycle-driving, raptor-training hero. As cool as that sounds, it just doesn't feel like a person. I generally like Chris Pratt when he plays kinda goofy characters like in Guardians of the Galaxy, who are still heroes, despite some flaws. This time it feels more like an unkillable hero of an 80s action movie, but no one you could in any way relate to. Bryce Dallas Howard was...OK....you either like her or not. Or you don't really care, like me. At least she can act, even if the role itself is a little inconsistent in detail. Still better than most other characters in this one. The boys...well, many people don't like child-actors and those two really don't make it better. The older one is a cliché-teenager who is really pushing the limits of taking dumb decisions (oh, if Hollywood-conventions would allow to kill off kids...)And the younger one... is just forgettable. The only reason for them to be in this movie is for Claire to take the whole thing personally. And because there were always kids in JP-movies. Most of all, i don't really care for them and their story at all. Everyone else i supporting cast we know almost nothing about, maybe apart from Masrani...Now, if anyone could tell me why he had to pilot that helicopter and die trying? All in all, it is a action-packed blockbuster movie. Nothing more, nothing less. Pure CGI-entertainment without any real depth or meaning or , god forbid, logic. It's OK to watch if you are looking for exactly this. But it lacks the memorability of the first two movies. It is still better than JP3, but I highly doubt that it will reach the legendary status the first two have reached, high-crossing or not.