JURASSIC WORLD

2015 / Director. Colin Trevorrow.
Review by Glenn Cochrane.

Movies like JURASSIC WORLD reduce my mind-set to that of a 10 year old boy. With that in mind please let me put this as professionally as possible... Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome!! Best-movie-ever!! 

Okay, so perhaps not the best movie ever... but JURASSIC WORLD has been well worth the wait. The closer the film came to its release date the more concerned I was becoming. The trailers were less than inspiring and the saturation of promotional art was annoying. You can imagine my relief to be treated to a film that matches the original in terms of atmosphere, suspense and excitement. The initial wow factor is removed, of course, because we know what a JURASSIC movie is all about. But that's no problem because this new world is an evolution of its own and is positioned nicely within the franchise. 

Times have changed since Richard Hammond dreamed of a Jurassic Park during the early 90s. Technology has changed the way we live and it has changed the way we think. Hand-held devices and social media have turned us into a NOW society where entertainment is on demand and immediate. We want bigger and better and we want it NOW. We have short attention spans and we grow weary too soon. Such is the premise of JURASSIC WORLD where Hammond's dream has been realised and a high-tech theme park has been created. With an ever-demanding public, the park must reinvent itself constantly to keep people flocking. That means new attractions and that means new dinosaurs. When an all new, top-secret and genetically spliced dinosaur escapes its enclosure, the park is thrown into chaos as other creatures get out and park management attempts to bring everything under control.


Cynical viewers will declare JURASSIC WORLD to be a rehash of JURASSIC PARK, and it is. Not only is the same aesthetic recaptured but the overall story arch is a reprise of Spielberg's classic film. Once we're on this ride we know exactly where we're headed but that is by no means a bad thing as far as I'm concerned. I was a loyal fan of the previous two sequels but can still concede that they're a pale imitation of the 1993 movie. And so there is comfort knowing that the creative minds have returned to the tried and true format of the original. Add in a WESTWORLD type of set-up to set it apart and we're the lucky recipients of a blockbuster movie of the highest degree. Director Colin Trevorrow has stepped into helm this beast and he has recaptured the Spielbergian spirit better than Spielberg himself did with THE LOST WORLD. 

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard lead the film effortlessly and hold their own amongst a menagerie of pterodactyls, raptors, t-rex's and other weird prehistoric monsters. They understand the material and know how to play the kitsch. Their chemistry is great and Pratt is especially dynamic as the velociraptor expert. He steps into his role like an amalgamation of Sam Neill's Alan Grant and Jeff Goldblum's Ian Malcolm. The film also maintains the franchise canon with welcome references to the original that assist the plot development rather than being tacky homages. Care has been taken.

If you're susceptible to arm-chair criticism then you will benefit from leaving your adult shell at the door. Let your inner-child out to play and let the majesty of this colossal adventure infect you. It is big and it is awesome and it blew my freaking mind!

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