Jurassic World

The ’90s was a decade of great movie classics, one of which is was the beloved Jurassic Park in 1993 and its sequel The Lost World in 1997. No one seemed to care about Jurassic Park III when it came out in 2001. Now almost two decades later, audiences are treated to a fourth installment in the franchise, Jurassic World.

Jurassic World takes place on the original island as the 1993 film, Isla Nublar. But now a modern and highly successful park has been built in place of John Hammond’s original attraction. We follow the journey of two brothers Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zack (Nick Robinson) on vacation to visit the park and their aunt Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) who is the Operations Manager. There is a buzz at the park as they are about to reveal their new attraction, the first genetically modified dinosaur Indominus Rex. Terrifying and exciting shenanigans ensure, and it’s up to Claire and strapping raptor wrangler Owen (Chris Pratt) to save the day.

Most people are understandably cynical about sequels to highly popular films, especially when it’s the fourth installment. But director Colin Trevorrow pulls it off seamlessly with just the right mix of action, humour, adventure and philosophical musings.

There are also wonderful throwbacks to the original film, including the famous Jurassic Jeep, an appearance by the T-Rex and head geneticist Dr Henry Wu (BD Wong). Not to mention the iconic theme song. Rather than trying to create a bigger and better version of the Jurassic Park movies, they pay homage to the roots of the story, which adds a nice flow to the storyline and appeals to the audience’s nostalgia.

That being said, the plot has definitely been given some modern upgrades. The film deals with investors, marketing, technology and even the possibility of utilising dinosaurs for the military. All issues that would come up in the daily course of running Jurassic World.

After his passing in 2008, this is the first Jurassic Park film not to feature animatronics work from special effects legend Stan Winston. This time the dinosaurs were created by Legacy Effects, along with a team that worked with Winston on the previous films. Overall, the visuals of the movie were brilliant, and the dinosaurs believable and terrifying.

Why they gave this film a PG rating is beyond me.

My favourite part of the film is the examination of human nature. In the previous films, we had Jeff Goldblum to warn us that, “If there’s one thing that history has taught us it’s that life cannot be contained”. Ultimately, the Jurassic Park films are about the hubris of man and how we can cause great destruction with our arrogance. Jurassic World takes similarly philosophical stance. The Indominus Rex is a metaphor for the dangers of technology, particularly when humans try to use it to make a profit.