Four out of Five kernels
FILM REVIEWKAYLEE BREWSTER
“Jurassic World” isn’t a sequel that breathes new life into the genre, but its fun, nostalgic look back at the original that brings thrills of its own.
Apparently no one has learned the lesson from “Jurassic Park,” because the park is now fully operational with dinosaur exhibits and attractions, like a Safari Park, SeaWorld and Disneyland all rolled into one.
Of course, it doesn’t stay that way. See, “Jurassic World” also breaks another sci-fi no-no: genetic splicing.
Dinosaurs aren’t enough to get visitors, so they make a new dinosaur. She’s deadly and highly intelligent. So naturally the clever girl gets out, which is a surprise to absolutely no one.
Thus, we are left with a group of people on an island with an escaped man-eating dinosaur. Again.
However, the characters are new: Owen (Chris Pratt) is the dino-expert, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) operates the park and the two kiddos in constant peril are Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins).
The thrills remain the same: the characters tramp through the jungle, dinos jump out to grab unsuspecting passersby and everyone gets a good cardio workout in the form of running away.
“Jurassic World” also has a few more dinosaur-to-dinosaur fights than previous films and more dinosaurs in general. But catching a glimpse of your favorite whatevera-saurus might be difficult because the story is focused on the people, who don’t stop to look at the creatures they are running from.
The special effects department spared no expense at making the dinosaurs look their best and most frightening. Even their movements and sounds make it feel like these are living, breathing Jurassic creatures.
That makes the audience fear them more. I heard plenty of gasps and exclamations of “watch out” from the audience, which was definitely engaged and drawn in.
The tension was further built upon by a wonderful score by Michael Giacchino that contained moments of awe and wonder, then switched around to create a haunting and terrifying feeling. And don’t worry, the original score of the great John Williams made more than one delightful appearance.
The other fantastic part of “Jurassic World” is there are plenty of Easter eggs from the original film that show up if you’re paying attention. It shows that “Jurassic World” is all about opening up the story to show the next generation that bringing back dinosaurs is still a bad idea, because life finds a way, and it involves a lot of people getting eaten.
But don’t worry. You’ll be safe in the theater, and you’ll want to take this visit to “Jurassic World.”