Jurassic World (2015)

   

      The Jurassic Park series has inspired an amazing fan base and it spawned two sequels since its 1993 release. It captured the elements of horror, science fiction, disaster movies, and the sense of adventure. The first film was truly legendary while its two sequels had a few problems with its fans (i.e. the "unfair" fight between Tyrannosaurus Rex and the new top predator, Spinosaurus in the third entry). Personally I believe that as a whole trilogy, it captured the true essence of feeling like a child again as you watched dinosaurs once more walk the Earth in a (disastrous) theme park setting. Jurassic World's presence recaptured that feeling in a whole new twist added to the franchise. The new theme park, Jurassic World; is bigger, badder, and louder in this direct sequel from the original. Its a wonderful place to visit: you can see a feeding show for almost all your favorite top predators (best in opinion was the Mosasaur); or even ride a baby triceratops at the petting zoo. You can take a safari with Gallimimus or take your own adventure inside a gyrosphere. The only problem is that the researchers of Jurassic World wanted something new and they had to "play God" in order to do it.

        The casting, in my opinion, was pretty good. You have Chris Pratt as Owen Grady, the park's resident raptor trainer turned hero. The stunning Bryce Dallas Howard as the park's director, and the aunt of her two nephews, Gray (Simpkins) and Zach (Robinson) Mitchell. You have great supporting characters including the original actor BD Wong reprising his role as head geneticist Henry Wu. Then you have the egotistical military man, Vincent D'Onofrio, playing a guy whom just wants to use the animals for biological weapons (and deserved his fate). Finally, you have the true stars: the Raptor Squad (Blue, Echo, Delta, and Charlie), Rexie the original park's T-Rex, and the genetically modified, killing machine Indominus Rex.

       There were mixed feelings for Jurassic World after its release. Some really enjoyed it while others disliked it due to reasons such as bad CGI, feminist responses against Grady's attitude toward Claire (B.D.Howard); and the last second Tyrannosaur Rex involvement at the end. Though these were valid points to be made, I for one was part of the people whom liked (or loved) it. I honestly cried at the end of the film from the fight scene to the victorious roar before the credits. I saw this film twice with my first experience being more magical than my second but, I still teared up at the end. The Indominus' design and behavior was truly unique since it was a totally new breed of monster. Like the films Carnosaur or Raptor, it re-established the horror aspect of the Jurassic franchise. Another cool factor this film had was the references it made toward the original film (i.e. the original door, or when the kids discovered the old theme park in the jungle). Though there were a few things I agreed with the people that disliked the film, I personally thought that it was pretty amazing to witness in theaters (and most likely for home entertainment).

     My all-time favorite scene in Jurassic World was the ending. After Grady's Raptor Squad decided to join with him against the Indominus to the last Tyrannosaurus roar, that was truly amazing to see with my very own eyes. The first time I saw the film, I was wearing an exclusive Jurassic World T-Rex shirt and I was extremely proud I wore it. The entire fight with two (no, three) unlikely allies against the Indominus made me realize that the true monsters are those whom act like monsters. The Indominus was a type of predator that shouldn't have existed in the first place but, the originals have shown that they themselves are at the top of the food chain. Though the Rex's late involvement in the film was either good or bad; I believe that the wait itself to finally see the true King of the Dinosaurs in action was greatly used to get everybody pumped up to see the final showdown. It was truly an unforgettable moment to witness.

    My rating for Jurassic World is a 4.5 out of 5. It was a truly amazing sequel to Jurassic Park but, I wished they allowed the other two sequels to be included in this version. Either it be Spinosaurus or a reference to the San Diego Incident, keeping something out of a great sequel was pretty insulting to the original trilogy (thankfully, the Spinosaurus did have cameo in Jurassic World but, he didn't move much). Though this idea may have overdone it but, having Blue teaming up with Rexie and the Spinosaurus against the Indominus would have been entertaining to watch. Probably would have most moviegoers walk out at the ending though. I also want to bring up that there were a lot of loop holes in the film that could have been solved from the sequels. For example, Grady training the raptors could have been easier if he used a whistle similar to that of their communication like in Jurassic Park 3 instead of training them like dolphins or dogs (credit goes to one of my friends whom brought this up). It probably would have made sense. Also, the film did gave us important questions about having a dinosaur theme park such as saying that these are animals, not profit; the dangers of creating advanced genetically engineered animals; and should we clone dinosaurs since we didn't learn from our past mistakes? Jurassic World is amazing, and it deserves to be viewed at least once. Hopefully its sequel would learn from their past mistakes but, apparently that's not the true essence of the Jurassic Park franchise.

"Lowery, you still there? I need you to open paddock nine."  

Interesting Thought:

                       There should be an Unleashed-styled video game for Jurassic World similar to that of Jaws Unleashed. Imagine having a sandbox game in which the player is the Indominus Rex, and they have the power to kill other dinosaurs and humans; buy upgrades like for example the Indominus' cloaking ability; and fight unique bosses like a helicopter or Rexie similar to that in the film.