Jurassic World was made by people who love Jurassic Park. To know this, one only has to look at Michael Giacchino's rendition of John Williams' classic theme as it is expertly deployed -- used only during the most appropriate moments of wonder and awe -- such as when Gray, a kid visiting the Jurassic for the first time, rushes out toward his hotel room balcony with a view of the park, the camera tracking him closely. Williams' instantly recognizable notes are only heard in full the moment when he opens the door and we, for the first time as well, witness the splendor that is the newly redesigned Jurassic World.
In the world of the film, it’s been twenty years since the terrible accident at the original Jurassic Park. Since then, however, the place got a new name, Jurassic World, and it was rebuilt bigger and better than ever before. The layout of this new park is something special. There are aquariums, petting zoos, safari expeditions, and giant swimming pools with shark-eating aqua-dinos so massive they make Shamu seem like a goldfish by comparison. Jurassic World is a park so lovingly rendered, detailed and well-planned that it feels like something that could exist in our world (only if you discount those dinosaurs, of course).
It would have been fun for the film to simply roam around the premises to discover all the secrets the park has to reveal, but that wouldn't please many people, and they say as much in the film. Dinosaurs aren't enough for people anymore. We have come to expect more carnage and more stakes in our entertainment, both in the world of the movie, where the visitors of the theme park are getting tired of the same old thing, as well as outside of the screen, where our films have become increasingly dependent on ever escalating special effects instead of on well crafted, intimate stories. As a result, in order to kickstart the plot and hopefully boost attendance for the park, an executive named Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard, the absentee aunt of the little kid Gray and his accompanying older brother Zach) approves the creation of a genetically mutated super-dinosaur named the Indominous Rex. Because hubris and stuff, the thing inevitably escapes his jail-cell and Jurassic World instantly becomes its plaything, a place where Indominous hunts both humans and dinosaurs alike.
To stop him, Claire contacts Owen, marvelously played by Chris Pratt, the only person in the world capable of stopping the Indominous Rex (it’s funny how there’s always exactly
one person qualified to save the world in these movies). Watching Jurassic World, it's easy to see why Pratt has become such a major star in such a short time following Guardians of the Galaxy and perhaps preceding a stint as Indiana Jones somewhere in the future. The way he commits to such a ridiculous role is heroic. In a way, he is your standard handsome and charming rogue, ex-military type with a thing for the heroine that you might have seen in about a thousand other movies. At the same time, he is the alpha of a pack of wild Raptors, something you have seen in exactly zero movies. And he sells both. Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire starts a little stiff. After all, her character is the corporate drone who cannot appreciate the wonder of the place where she works. She only cares about her business, about the numbers, and about attendance, not about the living, breathing dinosaurs under her care, and certainly not about her visiting nephews (“you don’t know how old your nephews are!!!” Owen screams at her). For a while, it's a thankless role, but Howard admirably gets through it, playing it with an appropriate coldness but never making Claire too unsympathetic. Later in the film, however, as she runs around the woods hunting dinosaurs and personally rescuing her nephews, all in spotless, indestructible high heels, is when she truly shines. Owen is not the only one who gets to kick ass.
As Claire and Owen race around the park, nephews of ages unknown Gray and Zach, who had been out and unsupervised in one of the parks most memorable attractions, become stranded and have to fend for themselves with the Indominous Rex on their tail. Here, director Collin Trevorrow creates plenty of suspense, briefly turning this into a horror movie on the level of the first Jurassic Park. Trevorrow is fond shots that feature people hiding in the foreground as Indominous roams in the background, playing hide and seek. It's eerily effective. No matter how many times Trevorrow repeats the same basic shot pattern, it always manages to be scary. Add to that one or two nasty onscreen deaths and you get a movie not quite suitable for small kids, but thoroughly enjoyable for everyone else. I wonder if one of the reasons the movie gets as frightening as it does is because Trevorrow doesn't really show anything horrible. He shows just enough and implies the rest, making the horror bloom in the mind of the spectator. Like any good director, he understands that what happens outside of the frame, off the screen, is as important as what goes on within.
For a long while, all attempts to corral the beast fail miserably. It is simply too smart for humans. At that point, a character familiar to anyone who has seen the Spielberg original returns home to save the day. One of the best things about the movie is how the different types dinosaurs are characters themselves. The Indominous Rex, for example, remembers how he was kept in captivity for all of his life, something that makes him direct his cruelty towards humans. He doesn't eat all of his victims. Instead, he hunts for sport. On the contrary, the Raptors who were raised with their brothers and sisters are extremely loyal. Trevorrow even sees fit to give the dinosaurs the traditional "hero shots," normally reserved for humans, like the one of Indominous Rex running towards the camera as a whole building goes up in flames behind him.
I won't spoil the specifics of the ending, but I will say that it holds up. The evil dinosaur does not win. This is not the Planet of the Apes we're talking about. Towards the end, there is a magnificent, wholly Spielbergian shot of the newly formed family unit (mom, dad and two kids) holding hands, standing in the ruins of the recently destroyed park. (It is a particularly touching image since one of the subplots of the film involves a family breaking apart, which is itself the major Spielberg theme.) It could have ended there, but it goes on a little further. A major human bad-guy escapes in order to make room for the inevitable sequels. Then, Trevorrow ends the film with what's sure to be a crowd pleasing image of everyone's favorite dino, king of the food chain once again.
Verdict- 3/4
Jurassic World (2015) 2h 4min. PG-13.
