Jurassic Park III (2001)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Joe Johnston

Country

USA

Cast

Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan, Michael Jeter, John Diehl, Bruce A. Young, Laura Dern, Taylor Nichols, Mark Harelik, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Blake Michael Bryan

Storyline

Eight years after the InGen incident, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) is persuaded into going to Isla Sorna by Paul Kirby (William H. Macy) and his wife (Téa Leoni), who hope Grant will help them find their son (Trevor Morgan) who crash-landed on the island.

Opinion

After siding with "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" for unfairly getting so much hate - sure, it wasn't as good as the first one, but it still was a solid film -, this time around I won't spare any criticism to "Jurassic Park III", a truly awful addition to the series.

With no ideas whatsoever, still with the need to make a money-making film, the filmmakers basically "delivered" a film that has no plot - and that little of it doesn't even make any sense -, no Jeff Goldblum, no character development, and where basically most of the characters are nothing but food for dinosaurs. And not even interesting food, but boring tofu. The characters are so one-dimensional, it's even impossible to find them annoying.

Now one would say, okay, the script is crap, but there's still the dinosaurs, right? Nope. Well, there are some dinosaurs but they are awful, just like the rest of the film. Also, there isn't enough of them and they are not even scary.

Which brings me to the next point, the special effects. I cannot believe how bad the effects look in this film. It's as if technology took several steps back since the previous film, and the dinosaurs would make for a great evidence: they look like puppets.

And of course the films lacks that tension Spielberg was able to create in the first film and kinda replicate in the second. And there isn't even a lot of science involved.

However, if you are the kind of person who likes their movies with a lot of action and nothing else, you might enjoy this film as the action is almost non-stop.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vanessa Lee Chester, Vince Vaughn, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard, Richard Attenborough, Peter Stormare, Harvey Jason, Richard Schiff, Thomas F. Duffy, Ariana Richards, Joseph Mazzello, Thomas Rosales Jr., Camilla Belle, Robin Sachs, Cyd Strittmatter, Bernard Shaw

Storyline

Four years after the failure of Jurassic Park, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) reveals to Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) that there was another island on which dinosaurs were bred, and sends a research team to the island to study the dinosaurs while another team approaches with a different agenda.

Opinion

Given the huge success of "Jurassic Park", it was more than obvious that there was going to be at least a sequel, and, although to my understanding it's not a very popular opinion, "The Lost World" is a pretty good one.

Once again based on Michael Crichton's work, although this time it's only loosely based on a novel of his, the film sure lost the originality and freshness of the first entry, but it still manages to deliver an interesting plot with several twists that will keep you engaged throughout the whole film.

Just like in the first film, the characters aren't that deep, but "The Lost World" does better in this field. It indeed gives us a group of more interesting characters that we also get to know better and therefore love and empathize with them.

But that's not the reason this sequel works. The credits for that go to Steven Spielberg, who returned to the director's chair and did a great job not only at building suspense and tension, but at balancing drama and action as well.

Also like its predecessor, this film features fantastic special effects (a lot of very realistic dinosaurs) and a good score, but most important is the cast. Jeff Goldblum reprised his role of Dr. Ian Malcolm and still did a good job, and the new comers did a good job as well, from Julianne Moore, to Vince Vaughn, to Vanessa Lee Chester who does better than the kids in the other film. Also it was very interesting to see Goldblum and Moore work together as they had a nice chemistry.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Genre

Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Wayne Knight, Samuel L. Jackson, Cameron Thro, Miguel Sandoval, Jerry Molen, B. D. Wong, Richard Kiley, Greg Burson

Storyline

During a preview tour, a group of scientists and two kids must fight for their survival as the theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaurs to roam freely over the island.

Opinion

After watching "Westworld" for the first time - also based on a Michael Crichton's novel -, I couldn't not rewatch "Jurassic Park", an exciting and incredible milestone in cinematic history as well as the best film about dinosaurs ever made.

Just like in "Westerworld", the story of this film isn't perfect. And it isn't that good either. Rewatching it I indeed realised there are a lot of plot holes, and that some turns are quite clichéd, but in spite of those flaws, the story is still compelling and fascinating, and the perfect pacing makes for a wonderful experience.

The characters aren't that deep either - some of them are tremendously one-dimensional - but, maybe it's because I grew up watching this film, or maybe because of the cast, it's impossible not to bond with them, and you'll definitely not want certain (bad) things to happen to certain people, like the two paleontologists and the two kids. And you'll also develop negative feeling towards some other characters. At least that's what I experience every single time.

The CGI is the reason why I consider this the best dinosaur movie. The special effects were so beautifully done that not only they still hold up today but they are even better than some films today. Also the dinosaurs look so realistic and menacing. I really don't care about the scientific inaccuracies.

The cast is amazing. Sam Neil, Laura Dern and Richard Attenborough all nail their respective characters, but stealing the show are Ariana Richards who is just the coolest - I loved her when I was a kid, I still love her - and Jeff Goldblum in the role of arrogant Dr. Ian Malcolm. He simply was the perfect cast for that role.

Westworld (1973)

Genre

Sci-Fi | Thriller | Western

Director

Michael Crichton

Country

USA

Cast

Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Norman Bartold, Alan Oppenheimer, Victoria Shaw, Dick Van Patten, Linda Scott, Steve Franken, Michael Mikler, Terry Wilson, Majel Barrett, Anne Randall, Nora Marlowe

Storyline

In a near future where vacationers can experience life in the themed period chosen - Medievalworld, Romanworld and Westworld -, Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) find themselves being stalked by a rogue robot gunslinger (Yul Brynner).

Opinion

A lot of year before he wrote "Jurassic Park", Michael Crichton constructed his first amusement park of the future and brought it to life in "Westworld", this incredibly gripping and tense film that effectively blends sci-fi and western. 

The story, that revolves around people paying to live in a different time period and things going awfully bad, isn't by any mean perfect - the reason why people can't be harmed in these worlds is quite weak, and there are a lot of plot holes -, but it sure is clever, engaging and suspenseful, and it easily manages to hold the attention until the very end.

Michael Crichton who wrote the screenplay and made his (impressive) directorial debut with this film, put together cowboys and robots, and delivered a film that has great and believable main characters, plenty of action moving just at the right pace, a great musical score that fits both the western and the robotic setting, and a few effects that are dated but still work well.

Other than being very entertaining, the film also explores the dark side of technology very well for its time. Of course now it feels dated, but it still is a hell of a ride.

Now forget about all of that because the best is yet to come. I'm talking about the cast. Both Richard Benjamin and James Brolin do a good job portraying the two cowboy-wannabe friends that find become preys of the androids, but easily stealing the show is Yul Brynner. He is simply spectacular, creepy and very menacing as the robot gunslinger that just won't stop coming back.

Jurassic World (2015)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Colin Trevorrow

Country

USA

Cast

Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, B. D. Wong, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus, Brian Tee, Katie McGrath, Jady Greer, Andy Buckley, Eric Edelstein, Colby Boothman, Jimmy Fallon, James DuMont, Jimmy Buffett, Colin Trevorrow, Brad Bird 

Storyline

22 years after the Jurassic Park disaster, Jurassic World is functioning as envisioned by John Hammond. Everything is going well until the park's newest attraction, a genetically modified giant dinosaur known as the Indominus Rex, escapes containment and goes on a killing spree.

Opinion

Jurassic Park is the first science fiction film I've seen, and growing up I've watched it so many times I've lost the count. As soon as I saw the trailer for this one, it's useless to say how excited I was; I wasn't sure though if going to the theater or waiting for the DVD release. Last night, screened for the last time in my city, I decided to go. And boy, I'm glad I did!

Great summer movie, Jurassic World is the exciting, fun, tense, nostalgic and perfect sequel to Jurassic Park... twenty-two years later, that we all were waiting for.

Despite Steven Spielberg - director of previous films - leaving the direction at the very beginning of the film, director Colin Trevorrow did a great job.

Unfortunately, the writers are not as smart as the Indominus Rex, because there isn't much wit or originality in here. The story has a lot in common with the first film - there is someone who cares a lot about the park, the kids getting in troubles, and that guy everyone hates and is waiting for some dinosaur to eat him -, still the film manages to keep the audience entertained.

It does brings some interesting questions like, should we be messing with nature? Shouldn't we treat the dinosaurs like animals? Do they have feelings? Can we build a relationship with them? And most of them - if not all - are answered by Chris Pratt's character, apparently the only one who cares about the animals.

When I first saw Jurassic Park, seeing the dinosaurs for the first time amazed me. Of course, in this film there is no element of surprise, and the animals aren't that effective. But I gotta say that the Indominus Rex was impressive, and even though it was supposed to be scary - and it actually was - I loved it, and some sick part of me wanted her to win. It's amazing to see the park completed, probably as Hammond wanted it to be. It is spectacular, very technological, kudos to the designers.

The film has its funny moments - Jimmy Fallon's cameo was kinda funny - and is visually stunning; CGI is well used, and the result is realistic and believable dinosaurs - as I said before I loved the I-Rex, but they were all great, especially the velociraptors, and the pterodactyls. The musical score by Michael Giacchino is also great.

Chris Pratt has the most memorable and the best character, and I did really love him in here. He is not goofy as he used to be in other movie, still he manages to be funny as always. Bryce Dallas Howard isn't much more than eye candy, but at least she has some chemistry with Pratt. Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson, playing Howard's nephews, are pretty good. Mediocre performances comes from Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi) as the owner of the Park killed by his own ambitions, and Vincent D'Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket's Gomer Pyle), as the clichéd villain. 

Quotes

Masrani: The key to a happy life is to accept you are never actually in control.