Same hype … new dinosaurs!
When Steven Spielberg released his dinosaur-movie back in 1993, it unleashed a hype unlike any movie in recent history had done. Sure, the man with the silver beard and child-friendly face also made another classic that year – and from a storytelling point of view Schindler’s list was definitely better – but no kid on planet Earth remained unmoved when coming face-to-face with the single most spectacular dinosaurs ever created in movie history!
Which is not to say only children embraced the glory of Jurassic Park. Parents and general folk who never so much as looked at a dinosaur suddenly rushed off to the cinema, in drones of a few hundred million. It was an instant classic. A masterpiece. It was one of the finest blockbusters ever made …
The thing that makes Jurassic World such a good sequel is because it treats the subject as if it’s completely new. Surely there are more than a few winks to the past, but the story & characters are just as fresh as the ones in the trilogy. You have a dinosaur-guy who knows pretty much everything about his prehistoric beasts. You have a corrupt, money-hungry pencil neck who treats the animals as a shortcut to loads of money and hardly anything else. And you have the owner of the park who tries to do good, but fails to see the tiny cracks in the system. Oh … and let’s not forget the large amount of screaming kids. Lovely … I say: let the show begin!
The biggest surprise of the movie isn’t what transpires on the screen though, but what’s behind the camera. Director of the movie is newcomer and unknown B-talent Colin Trevorrow, whose career consists of a short movie, a documentary, a TV movie and a single motion picture called Safety not guaranteed. It’s so small few have heard of it and even fewer have seen it. And yet, this man was chosen by Spielberg himself to open up the latest chapter in his dinosaur-saga. Pretty ballsy choice, wouldn’t you say?
Irregardless, it was a patch made in heaven!
Colin Trevorrow was spiking with talent and made Jurassic World the classic masterpiece we’ve come to know today. Apparently the man has a knack for telling great fantasy stories, as he was also chosen by Hollywood to crawl behind the camera of Star Wars: Episode IX in 2019. Yet another daring multimillion project. Let’s hope it pans out with equal success …
So what’s so different about this new dinosaur movie?
Well, everything! The park is finally open. No more investigations for possible safety hazards, no more cracking wiseguys who warn about the dangers of getting eating by a 10 ton lizard and no more stalling of the inevitable.
Much like Disney world (or any other grand theme park), Jurassic World offers the visitor to experience dinosaurs up close and personal. It’s like visiting the zoo, but instead of watching a big cat you’ll be reeking the stenchy breath of a massive Triceratops or something. Of course ‘up close and personal’ becomes a haunting reality, and soon the parents and their children find themselves trapped in an adventure few will forget.
The casting of the new dinosaur movie might not ‘seem’ important, but they are the partly the reason why this movie isn’t just another monster-movie. As a viewer you really feel for poor Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of well-renowned director Ron Howard) who serves as the manager of the park and tries to do well, but somehow can’t keep a lid on things when everything turns sour. Thank God for upcoming Hollywood-favorite Chris Pratt (fresh off his breakthrough performance in Guardians of the Galaxy) who really knows how these animals think.
The man is easily the best thing about the movie in terms of acting and he carries those few moments when the action dies out.
One other nod goes to French actor Omar Sy who launched himself in Hollywood thanks to the success of Intouchables, easily one of the most original and heart-warming French movies ever made! Bad guy of the movie is wonderfully portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio whom you might recognize as the kid who blew his brains out in the Stanley Kubrick-classic Full Metal Jacket.
Last but not least, there’s one guy from the original movie who comes back. You’ll remember him when you see him, his name is BD Wong, the scientist who didn’t think creating raptors was a bad thing.
As delegated by prior Jurassic movies, the latest chapter also offers an interesting batch of new dinosaurs. There’s the Baryonyx, Dimorphodon, Edmontosaurus, Microceratus, the large but docent Apatosaurus, the indestructible tank Ankylosaurus, the larger than life aquatic Mosasaurus and finally the – what the heck, let’s make a new dinosaur – Indominux rex.
It’s this last animal that takes the cake in Jurassic World. Replacing the T-rex because – he’s enjoyed the limelight in 2 movies already – the Indominux rex is believed to be just as big, much faster and far more aggressive, not to mention it has claws the size that makes any sword look like a toothpick.
One little side note: the Indominux rex, though this is never mentioned in the movies is created after a real dinosaur, namely the largest raptor ever to exist. The Megaraptor looked every bit as dangerous as the one the Jurassic-scientists created in their lab. So, the Indominux rex is a real dinosaur … kinda.
Needless to say, Jurassic World is a fabulous movie due to the new dinosaurs, the awesome action sequences and the child-friendly Hitchcock-way the story slowly unfolds itself. It never becomes a dark or menacing as the first one – and that’s a damn shame! – but if you wanna enjoy a spectacular blockbuster, then look no further. Jurassic World is about as good as any blockbuster these days …
did you know?
Ankylosaurus was considered the most lethal dinosaur that ever lived, though it being a docent herbivore. Reason for it is simple. Its entire body, including its head and feet, were protected by an impenetrable armor of bony plates and razor-sharp spikes. Even the eye lids were covered by a hard shield. Scientists believe the armor was so strong a T-rex would break its teeth during an attack. The animal also had a large club at the end of its tail, strong enough to break the legs of any predator that came too close.
It seems the only way an Ankylosaurus could be killed in battle was when it was still an infant. The armor of young ankylosaurs was still flexible …
Give it to me straight:
Making a sequel in 2016 isn’t as easy anymore as it was 15 years ago. Proof is how the new Ghostbusters- and Independence Day-sequel bombed making 2016 one of the worst blockbuster years in recent movie history.
Things are different with Jurassic World. Surely the story is simple, but effective. The characters are all fresh and beautifully written. The action makes sense and comes across as authentic as well as innovative. And the story progresses just slow enough so that anyone has time to take in the new atmosphere. After all, the park is finally open! And when watching this movie, we are all first-time visitors!
There’s a sad moment when a dinosaur dies – and you genuinely feel for it – and another moment when the new king of jungle shows off his awesome sturdy lizard body and snapping jaws. The most impressive moment however occurs in and around the water (I say no more).
The hype with dinosaurs will never die, so it’s a good thing that Jurassic World became the great movie we’ve come to love today. Director as well as the entire cast & crew really know how to cash in on this never-dying childlike obsession of the only real monsters who have lived on our planet …
THE 4TH WALL 