SYNOPSIS:
Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. After 10 years of operation and visitor rates declining, in order to fulfill a corporate mandate, a new attraction is created to re-spark visitor's interest, which backfires horribly.
Source for synopsis and image: www.imdb.com
KALEE’S REVIEW:
"Life will find a way." Words can't explain how excited was for this movie. I first saw Jurassic Park when I was eight and was addicted to them since. Although I wasn't there when it was first released and I didn't feel the amazement of the crowd, this movie still struck me as beyond amazing. The CGI and the animatronics are still many times better than some of the movies we see now. I absolutely loved this movie and everything that came with it. From the characters to the music, everything was astounding. So along with many other people, I was afraid when I heard about Jurassic World.
Jurassic World embodies the spirit of Jurassic Park nicely, but doesn't surpass its original. It is still a movie worth seeing and, I'm glad to say, stands by the earlier movies nicely. The use of the old Jurassic Park soundtrack was great. I especially love the slow version of the theme (which can also be heard in the trailer). When they revealed the whole park to the viewers and played the Jurassic Park music in the back, I got the feels, haha. The CGI was pure eye candy for anyone. You could see the texture on each of the dinosaurs. However, I do wish they didn't show the aquatic dinosaur (I forget its name) during the trailer. It would have been a nice surprise, because I had not expected there to be any aquatic dinosaurs. But other than aquatic dino and the hybrid (Indominus Rex) there were no new dinosaurs. At least none that I saw. The science behind the dinosaurs was great, too.
The way the directors approached the science in the beginning was very intriguing. They would give you a whole chunk of information and then flash you with the mega awesome dinosaurs. It was like they were trying to appease the skeptics and the dinosaur lovers at the same time. They were trying to make sure that no one party got too bored. Admittedly, I did get a little bored during the exposition part. The explanations they gave did make sense. I sort of miss the simplicity of the explanations from the old movies. Taking blood from a trapped mosquito was a simple idea that could be grasped by a reader of any age. The training velociraptors part was well done. I thought it would be kind of weird, but somehow they made it work. I felt there was a genuine connection between Owen (Chris Pratt) and the raptors. The casting was great, too.
Each of the actors played their part very well considering that it's not that easy to stare at air and pretend it's a dinosaur. Did I mention BD Wong returned? I didn't realize he was the only returnee until my Dad and Friend (not JC) mentioned it. It was cool, though. All the throwbacks (some subtle, some not so much) were very nice. I would have really really liked it if some of the old characters at least made a cameo appearance. Now to compare it to the old movies...
Jurassic World was not as good as Jurassic Park. It didn't really give me that moment of, "Wow that's really amazing." It was also lacking something that I can't mention due to spoilers. I will say it didn't really make me feel emotions besides scared though. Oh, and a bit off topic, but I would like to apologize to JC for talking so much about the movie on the ride home.
JC’S REVIEW:
When a friend of ours suggested that we go see Jurassic World, I was a little worried because I’d never seen the Jurassic Park movies. I thought that I’d be confused the entire time. But fortunately, this wasn’t the case. Everything was fairly well-explained, and save from a few references to the old movies, Jurassic World could easily be considered a solid stand-alone movie.
I’m not really the kind of person who loves action movies. I don’t mind them, but I’m honestly more of a chick flick kind of movie-goer. But I have to admit that Jurassic World was very impressive. It was exciting, it was smart, and it was touching in more ways than one.
One great part of the movie was that it had an amazing cast. Each of the actors and actresses were well-matched to their roles, and they were amazing at showing the depth and dimension in their characters.
I also really enjoyed, as I mentioned before, the emotional moments. Lessons were learned, people were brought together, and animals were adorable. They were scary, sure. But they were adorable. And the graphics were amazing, but I’m sure that Kalee already mentioned that, since that was what she was all excited about when we went to see it.
As much as I enjoy drama, I really love comic relief. I also really love New Girl, so when Jake Johnson appeared on the screen, I was, like, internally pumping my fist and all “Yes, yes, yes, NICK!” He was pretty funny in the movie, and even Bryce Dallas Howard, who played Claire, was fairly amusing. And man, could that lady run in heels. And I’m talking sprinting--none of this jogging business. I was so impressed--with those heels, I’d probably fall on my face after two steps.
The action was top-notch, the graphics were breathtaking, and the acting was amazing. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who . . . breathes, basically. There was something for everyone in this film. Well, I suppose I wouldn’t recommend it to little kids who are easily frightened. The dinosaurs were a little scary.
In conclusion, this movie made me eager to see the Jurassic Park films--and anything else that Spielberg cooks up.
(And Kalee, it’s all good. I appreciated the ride.)
This next part is for those of you who enjoyed our review and/or would like to learn more about the movie. Warning: *SPOILER ALERT!*
We are going to try to avoid spoilers, but there will be some.
THE PLOT:
Kalee: The plot is that the hybrid dinosaur, the Indominus Rex is genetically engineered. It is super smart and dangerous. The way they explained the engineering and the dino herself was great. If I remember correctly, this movie took a decade to come out because Steven Spielberg was unsatisfied with the blend of science and action of the script. Just a note, we were one of those crazy people who saw the movie on the opening day... We were just too busy to make a review.
JC: I liked the plot. Since I’d never watched Jurassic Park, Jurassic World was like nothing I’d ever seen in the theatres before. Though throughout the movie (since I’m very easily distracted), I kept thinking that it was kind of like Journey to the Center of the Earth, even though the main ideas were completely different. But overall, I thought the plot was original and clever and very well thought-out.
Kalee: It was a bit slow in the beginning though. The Jurassic Park movies are kind of known for having a fast movie plot and story. There is always some sort of action going on and going to happen. It took a while for anything to get exciting. There were pockets of excitement, but understand that the directors believed that they had to explain the science of it.
JC: You probably thought it was slow just because you didn’t need all the explanations, lol. So I suppose it was a little slow compared to the rest of the movie, but I thought that the way they explained everything was intriguing. The soundtrack helped a lot, too, to make what they were saying sound interesting instead of boring. I did think that there were a few random, unnecessary side plots that I guess were meant to give some of the characters depth and whatever, but I just didn’t really see the point of them.
Kalee: I think the side plots that had to do with trying to show that humans can be just as dangerous as the dinosaurs. (I heard it somewhere, but I can't remember where).
JC: Well, I didn’t really mean those plots, like the guy with his whole military thing and whatever. I thought that was interesting. But I just meant the whole thing with the boys’ parents fighting, and with . . . well, that’s basically it. The whole divorce thing seemed kind of out of nowhere. But that’s kind of my whole problem with it. Nothing else.
Kalee: Hmm, I see what you're saying. Do you think it took too long for the dinosaur to get loose?
JC: Um . . . not really. I liked how they did that, with the whole tricky tricky dino stuff.
Kalee: I do have to ask, what happened to the dinosaurs that lived on the island earlier? Did they find a way to round them all up? Were they the same dinosaurs from the first one? It also feels like they didn't really learn anything from the first movies haha.
JC: I can’t really answer that . . . viewers? Does anyone know? And I agree that everyone was pretty . . . not so smart. At least in the beginning. Except for Owen and that other trainer guy, of course.
Kalee: Overall, I would give the plot a 9.5 out of 10.
JC: I’d give the same. :)
THE CHARACTERS:
Kalee: I liked the characters. I thought that they were all strong and there was positive development.
JC: Yeah, me too. I thought that the actors/actresses were well-matched to their roles. I also thought that the relationships (aunt-nephew, brother-brother, etc.) were portrayed really well and the actors/actresses were well-matched to each other.
Kalee: I liked Chris Pratt, who played Owen. He played a very convincing character. In my opinion, one of the best relationships in the movie was between him and his raptors, haha.
JC: Yeah, that was so cute. And I just have to mention it--Jake Johnson is the best. There. I said it.
Kalee: Who is this Jake Johnson?
JC: He’s Nick from New Girl, but he played the dorky camera control dude with the figurines in the movie.
Kalee: Oh, him. I may be incorrect but I thought I saw the book that Ian Malcolm mentioned in the second movie. I might be wrong though. Maybe he didn't even write a book, but I thought if that was it, then that was a nice little touch. One thing I didn't like was that there was no major character deaths. I didn't feel a lot of emotion throughout the movie. Jurassic Park had a lot of deaths and the characters that died were actually likeable characters.
JC: That wasn’t such a major problem with me . . . As you probably know, I’m kind of a happy-ending kind of person.
Kalee: I like it when you have one those, "Oh, no my favorite character just died," moments. It makes the movie feel more real.
JC: Difference between you and me, my friend. Character deaths don’t necessarily ruin the movie for me or anything, but it makes me kind of not want to watch it again because I know that they die in the end, and I don’t really see the point. But that’s just sometimes.
Kalee: Hmmm, yeah. I guess I kind of expected it after watching the other movies. I thought the brother duo was nice. I like older bro, little bro relationships.
JC: Yeah, that was cute. I thought both brothers were portrayed really well, and they had great chemistry together.
Kalee: What about the main love interest in the movie? Their relationship was kind of cliche but it worked.
JC: I liked their relationship because it was entertaining to watch how frustrated Owen was getting with Claire. It was kind of an amusing relationship that made me want them to end up together. The one thing I didn’t like was Owen’s last line in the movie. It was kind of badly delivered . . . or maybe it was just badly written. Either way, it was badly something. I thought the last line could’ve been stronger, to say the least.
Kalee: I would give the characters an 9 out of 10. I kind of miss the sense of amazement the old characters gave on screen, but I should stop comparing it to the old movie.
JC: I’d give an 9.3. Onward!
THE CONCLUSION: (spoilers here)
Kalee: I didn't expect the T-Rex to come back. Now that I think about it it was really kind of cliche, but I still didn't expect it.
JC: I didn’t watch the previous movies (which you probably already know since I’ve mentioned it only about a billion gazillion times), but I still felt the . . . nostalgia, I guess? Because I could tell (maybe it was the music, or Claire’s dramatic realization that she had a plan that could work, or . . . idk, something) that the T-Rex was a big part of the previous movies even though I’ve never watched them. (Kalee, the T-Rex was a big part of the previous movies, right? ‘Cause if not . . . that was a really dramatic and incorrect paragraph I’ve just written.)
Kalee: He was the main enemy besides the velociraptors, which were crazy smart. He was like the ultimate dino at the end and it was pretty cool. I got the chills, haha. When I saw the Indominus Rex next to the aquatic dinosaurs exhibit I kind of could guess what was going to happen.
JC: Oh, my gosh, I loved that last part. The aquatic dinosaur was such a small part of the movie until the very end, and I (since Kalee’s obviously the smart one) didn’t expect the aquatic dinosaur to make an appearance at all.
Kalee: I really wanted to see that aquatic dinosaur more in the movie. I really wanted to learn more about it and see more like that one. It felt very unique.
JC: Yeah, I think that that was my favorite dinosaur after the velociraptors. What about you?
Kalee: I liked all of the little references, but I thought the whole park itself was really great. It felt massive and the visuals were beyond stunning.
JC: . . . no favorite dinosaurs, then?
Kalee: Nah, they were all cool. Sorry, I kind of missed her question the first time.
JC: Okiedokie.
Kalee: The final line was pretty bad though.
JC: Very. Okay. So what’s your rating of the conclusion? I’d give an 8.9.
Kalee: Me, too and JC, next time you come over, we are watching Jurassic Park. It doesn't feel like an old movie at all.
JC: Lol, okay, fine. Sooo, what do you guys (viewers) think? Was the movie good (if you watched it)? And do you have any other suggestions for book, movie, video game, or whatever else reviews?
Overall Rating: 9.2 out of 10
Thanks,
Kalee and JC
