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I went to see Jurassic World last Thursday night at Hollywood Blvd (dinner + movie theater). and had a good time. Overall I enjoyed the movie...it was neat to finally see a Jurassic movie where the theme park is open to the public. Been waiting 22 years for that! Also one of the actors/characters from the first movie is back - the Asian scientist (forgot his name) who worked in the lab -- he's still there.
And got a kick out of seeing some of the "new" dinosaurs brought in this time around such as the gigantic whale-like dino who performs for the crowd by jumping out of the water like Shamu, splashing everyone. And then there's a huge new dino that is a cross between a T-Rex and something else even meaner and nastier than the original T-Rex in the 1993 movie (of course he is released from his cage and terrorizes everyone and everything in the park). Those two dinos "meeting" face to face in the end of the movie was the best part!
And got a kick out of seeing some of the "new" dinosaurs brought in this time around such as the gigantic whale-like dino who performs for the crowd by jumping out of the water like Shamu, splashing everyone. And then there's a huge new dino that is a cross between a T-Rex and something else even meaner and nastier than the original T-Rex in the 1993 movie (of course he is released from his cage and terrorizes everyone and everything in the park). Those two dinos "meeting" face to face in the end of the movie was the best part!
The trailer didn't show Vincent D'Onofrio, so seeing him in this was sort a pleasant a surprise. The minute he shows up I knew he was a goner. You can't tease a raptor and expect to live. I liked the two child stars of the movie - one kid about 10 and the other about 14 or 15. Of course they had to make at least one of them be a dinosaur geek; he had a bushy haircut like a kid from the 1970s. When did that come back in style? Oh well it gave him some personality at least. And I liked how the other kid could care less about dinos. There's a funny scene where the younger kid catches the older brother smiling at a pretty girl in the park and he says to him "what good is it to just stare at them?".
At first, I thought the park was going to be like Pleasure Island from Pinnochio with the entire island filled with kids, but it turned out that they are there to meet their aunt who works at the park (and supposedly got them free passes), played by Bryce Dallace Howard, who was nasty in The Help. I would have liked to have seen her character from The Help get eaten by dinos. I couldn't believe she was the same actress. She was OK; I could imagine her in a rom-com one day. She has good chemistry with the male lead Chris Pratt and their banter is kind of funny. The only thing that got me rolling my eyes was seeing her walk and run around the park all day in her high-heels. Come on! At least change into some gym shoes at some point. The parents in the movie pretty much only show up in the beginning and ending. It might have been fun if one of those actors were played by the kids from the original film. But they got Judy Greer and one of the actors from the TV show The Office (don't know his name but he played the CEO I think).
At first, I thought the park was going to be like Pleasure Island from Pinnochio with the entire island filled with kids, but it turned out that they are there to meet their aunt who works at the park (and supposedly got them free passes), played by Bryce Dallace Howard, who was nasty in The Help. I would have liked to have seen her character from The Help get eaten by dinos. I couldn't believe she was the same actress. She was OK; I could imagine her in a rom-com one day. She has good chemistry with the male lead Chris Pratt and their banter is kind of funny. The only thing that got me rolling my eyes was seeing her walk and run around the park all day in her high-heels. Come on! At least change into some gym shoes at some point. The parents in the movie pretty much only show up in the beginning and ending. It might have been fun if one of those actors were played by the kids from the original film. But they got Judy Greer and one of the actors from the TV show The Office (don't know his name but he played the CEO I think).
When the kids get to the island, they expect to meet their aunt, but she's too busy "working" with the head of the park, who's played by the adult "Pi" in the movie The Life of Pi. He's pretty shady, and he dies a good death when his chopper crashes into the "aviary" filled with flying dinos. One of the nerdy guys from the TV show New Girl plays a nerdy tech guy in the park, and he's sort of the Sam L. Jackson role from the original except he doesn't die. He's got an oddly nostalgic fascination with the "original park" - the Park from the first movie that never saw the light of day.
One of my favorite parts in the movie is when the two brothers ride the spherical glass tram ride through the park, and have to watch an intro video hosted by Jimmy Fallon. That tram was cool and I loved how the dino stuck his claw in it and how the cell phone vibrated as they were upside down. That was pretty cool. In one scene the heroes mourn the death of a brontosauraus which is kind of melancholy but I think it was there to show how nasty the giant T-Rex hybrid can be when he is on the loose.
Hmmm. who else did I recognize? Can't think of anyone else, except there's the aunt's "assistant" who is supposed to chaperon the kids, but she loses them. She kind of looked like Megan Fox with a British accent, and I liked how she got her just desserts at the end, payback for losing the kids - some giant pterodactyls fly in and grab her and throw her in the water.
And then, the grand finale. Eveyone in the theater cheered when the T-Rex came onscreen. The hybrid monster and a T-Rex - battling one-on-one like in a Godzilla film. It was epic. And the raptors jumping all over the hybrid. Classic. Who would have thought the T-Rex would turn out to be the good guy?
Oh, and the BEST line in the movie is when the female announcer on the PA says, “Due to a containment anomaly, all guests must take shelter immediately!”
Oh, and the BEST line in the movie is when the female announcer on the PA says, “Due to a containment anomaly, all guests must take shelter immediately!”
Dumb fun. Recommended only if a fan of the other Jurassic movies. Or monster movies.
Three stars out of four.