Stop the tape once they leave the island

Rating: 7/10 (30 October 2004)

SPOILERS The original 'Jurassic Park' film was released whilst I was in my final year of primary school (age 11-12). It was my favourite film for ages. And now at 19 years of age, although it may have been replaced at the top of my film list, I love it just as much. It is an epic film and the T-Rex breakout scene is one of the best of all time.
So when I was sat in the cinema screen awaiting the start of this sequel I was, naturally, extremely excited. It was never going to be as effective as the classic first film (and it certainly isn't) but for 2 thirds it is entertaining and engaging action fare.
It was a clever idea to upgrade Goldblum's Ian Malcolm from bit part player to central protagonist. He was easily the best character in the first, possibly the only person with character in the first, excluding the dinosaurs. His witty dialogue was a joy ('It's an impact tremor is what it is, I'm fairly alarmed here!) and here we are given the opportunity for plenty more humorous lines. Actually, the human characters in this film do, in general, have more personality. The one true flaw you can accuse the original of is the dullness and lack of development of the characters. Laura Dern is replaced by the much more capable Julianne Moore as the leading lady in this sequel, and the under-developed Sam Neill character was rightly left out.
The result is a much more light-hearted perspective of events on this new island, as Goldblum's witty repartee illuminates the dangerous dinosaur scenes. And it becomes a very good action film. The stars of the first, the Rapters, take a back seat for the T-Rex and the small but deadly little green ones to steal the limelight. However the rapters in the long grass sequence is probably the best scene in the film.
But as soon as they manage to escape the island this film franchise lost all it's appeal. The T-Rex in the big city ending is atrocious. It makes a mockery of the dinosaur as we see him chasing buses, drinking from swimming pools and chewing on dog kennels! After one and a half films of gripping, edge of the seat dino action this ending is a total joke. I still don't know what happened to the crew on that ship. I just sat there shaking my head at this typical Hollywood over-the-top scenario.
And then there is the third film. Possibly the worst film of all time. Spinosaurus! Swallows a mobile phone! Rapters talking to each other! Oh please! Spielberg didn't direct it and you can tell. Something tells me he was regretting that abysmal ending to 'The Lost World' (an apt title, as the climax to this film marks the end of a geniusly created dinosaur world). And that is so frustrating.