Jurassic World

[Oaf]

This totally deserves its own thread.

So the first couple of reviews are coming in... and for the most part, holy crap, it looks like they may have actually made a great movie out of this after all!

I had my doubts. We all had our doubts. And the trailers looked cool and all, but they also left a lot of uncertainty... to me, it just looked like they couldn't really think of what to do so they just went and made a big new dinosaur and tried to sell a film based on that... But, apparently, the trailers do not portray this movie in the right light at all. Even the raptor training stuff, in the context of the movie, is apparently actually good.

To sum up the views I've seen so far:

It feels like the real sequel to Jurassic Park. Much more so than TLW or JP3.
It focuses on characters, rather than just making it all about "holy shit, dinosaurs rwar!!" action scenes...
But this being said, the action scenes are apparently superb with brilliant CGI.
Great performances all round, especially from Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
LOTS of goosebump creating nostalgia.

To be fair, the above is exactly what I was after... I just didn't expect to get it.

Lets not go crazy here... I still don't think anybody is putting it on a par with the original. But at the very least, it seems that everybody agrees that it's easily the best JP sequel, and seeing that as somebody who actually really likes the sequels, this gets me damned excited.

He did it. The crazy son of a bitch did it.

 

[Oaf]

Oh and having said that I see that on Rotten Tomatoes it's sat on 68% at the moment with 14 good reviews and 7 bad ones. Looks like I may have just stumbled across like every single good review of it while missing the bad ones

 

[Scrumpy]

Think I'll be waiting for a couple weeks and checking reviews before deciding whether to watch it at the cinema.

Modern day remakes/sequels/prequels of old (better) films can be very poor.

Makes me wonder, how many old films have been revamped and actually all that good?

Tron was good visually, so I enjoyed that. Planet of the Apes too.

 

[Oaf]

Planet of the Apes is one of the best examples of how these sort of things can go... I consider Rise of the Planet of the Apes to be the very best in the series!

But yeah, other than that, they are few and far between. Mad Max is a recent one I can think of, everybody seems to love that. It is rare though.

Which is why I'm happy to see some good reviews for JW. It could have been shite, and like you say, these sorts of things usually are. And I assumed this would be... so to even see reviews saying it at least doesn't suck is more than I had hoped for... but seeing some saying that it's actually pretty great is exciting.

Look, after looking around more, I guess it's more accurate to say that reviews for JW are better described as being mixed... but some do love it. Like anything else, you won't really know until you go and see it for yourself... but just knowing that there's a chance that I'll love it fills me with hope beyond my wildest dreams.

 

[hodge]

Very tempted to go watch this and I don't go to the cinema to watch much, maybe a couple of films a year

 

[JJ1532]

Been to see it tonight and yeah, I can see why it's received mixed reviews. There are some really good moments, loads of nods to the Jurassic Park film. But there are some ridiculous scenes, laughably bad even. Some things didn't make a whole lot of sense and there were a lot of contrived bits to make the film work.

I just think that the newer elements they introduced ended up getting lost amongst the rehashed stuff we've already seen from the first 3 films and that dulled the films impact.

Spoiler

I found the raptors angle a bit ludicrous. First Owen controls them, then he loses control. They he regains control and uses them, then he loses it again. Finally he regains control and he parts with the last raptor as a friend. Not sure about all of that to be honest. Felt like the film makers massively altered their behaviour to suit the plot.

How do he and the workers get the raptors into the face mask containment block things exactly? How does he know that just giving the raptors a chunk of the indominus would make them want to chase and hunt it down? Why would they not spring from containment and just turn on the humans?

They grew the Indominus yet didn't fully build its paddock?

They have 4 Velociraptors, yet they aren't part of a display, yet all the other dinosaurs are? Why exactly?

The romance was unnecessary. Did they really need to put that in there?

Despite all the drama 22 years ago with the park, there was no mass evacuation procedure for a containment breach. They built all the fancy infrastructure, yet didn't build an airport or airstrip? You know, like they did on Isla Sornar? Wouldn't that make more sense that having everyone arrive and leave by boat? There is no way that place would have opened without some sort of plan which could evacuate the masses of people, not a chance. The T-Rex, Raptors etc break out in JP1 and they all leave. Yet when the Indominus breaks out in this film, yeah, everyone is still milling around and stuff.

Why did they send people into the Indominus Paddock despite not having confirmation it had broken out. They made this creature, yet didn't bother to tell the safety guys what it could do? Did it not occur to any of them that this sort of incident could happen? I get that it could camouflage itself, but how on earth did nobody spot a big ass dinosaur lying on the ground in the tiny paddock? Is nobody watching the damn thing?! They had workers working on the paddock and CCTV everywhere, was it ever possible that it could climb over the wall and sneak off? I mean, jesus, we saw the fences for T-Rex and Raptors in both JP1 and this film, yet they made the Indominus paddock so that it could climb over the wall? Da fuq?

How did they manage to attach a big ass machine gun to a domestic civilian chopper?

What do the raptors have against Hoskins? I get that they see him as the bad guy, but why? Its not like he abused them or gave them any particular reason to hate him.

Why did the Indominus break into the bird enclosure? What, to free them into attacking the chopper? How did it even know those birds were there?

How did the guy who fell into the raptor pit survive a 30 foot straight fall to a hard floor and not suffer one injury?

I also find it hard to believe that the same guys that were smart enough to recapture the dinosaurs from the first movie, contain them, build this huge park(not to mention create dinosaurs in the first place, plus make new ones from gene splicing) yet miss so many glaring issues and problems. I mean, the premise from the first JP made more sense, that idea was undone by a mole on the inside. This park was undone by stupidity.

This is more a silly little complaint on my part, but in the first film, yeah, shit gets destroyed and what have you, no biggie. But this new park, I didn't want to see it get ruined. It looks and looked cool as hell, to have it turned into another wasteland just like the first one is just annoying. I think, putting it into better words, I feel like they could have helped recapture some of the first films magic if they almost had the entire film based on the kids adventures in the park, where we get to see all the new and fancy stuff going on in Jurassic World, rather than having it all go to waste by turning into a killing spree less than halfway through the movie.

In terms of where they go from here, it'll be very interesting to see what any future films do in terms of plot. Because whilst this recaptures some of the fun and novelty of watching dinosaurs and humans interact, a 5th "dinosaurs rampaging and eating humans on an island" is surely going to get boring soon.

Despite my many complaints about glaring plot holes, I did enjoy the movie.

Pratt and Howard, love story aside, are decent, Pratt especially. He does do a good job of making the raptor control thing believable. There are some cool scenes, like when they are all hunting down the Indominus and Pratt is riding with the raptors. We get to see how things look from their perspective, sort of, and its pretty neat. The T-Rex v Indominus fight is pretty good, as is the way the Indominus gets killed.

It is way better than 2 and 3(not that hard tbf) but despite its nods, its way off the first film. This film carries none of the tension, none of the scares. Hard to find that again I'll admit. But it is just a slightly better version of your usual summer action packed blockbuster.

All that aside, I'm sure your fans of the franchise(looking at you Oaf) will love this film and I can see why. Its not a bad film by any stretch, but its also not a classic, far from it. Its worth going to see this film(a cinema does it more justice than a laptop or TV screen), just don't be in any rush to do so.

 

[TheMinsterman]

Loved the film, always enjoyed the previous ones (flaws aside). I went in expecting dinosaurs causing mayhem and I got it, it was a nicely constructed storyline which didn't feel rushed, the characters were all enjoyable and the action was spaced out well. It had a simple story and it told it, the dinosaurs were awesome, the nods were nice and I actually enjoyed how commercialised the park was and referencing dinosaurs as "assets", ironically the plastic business driven gleam on the part made it feel all the more realistic, for once product placement actually enhanced things. It's your fairly standard arrogance of mankind, stupidity of wealth over safety etc but who cares, there's a T-Rex.

Only advice I'd give people is don't go in expecting the first film, it was never going to be on par with what was so groundbreaking to begin with. Just go in with an open frame of mind and don't take it too seriously and you'll have a lot of fun with it, there's plenty of room for films like this

 

[Oaf]

Saw it last night, very pleased. Beyond my expectations, for sure. By all rights, it could have sucked, and I know that some of the stuff in the trailer put a lot of people off... but I consider JW to comfortably be the 2nd best film in the series. It's still nowhere near on a par with the first, but I think we have to accept that nothing will ever reach that level again. For what it was, it more than delivered.

Regarding that trailer though, having seen the film, it's funny thinking back to some of the reactions to it... right now, it almost feels like they actually got the exact reaction they wanted out of it. It was very self aware of what were perceived as "missteps". Making a new dinosaur to try to add something new and fresh to something old that people are getting fed up with isn't a good idea. Training raptors is a ridiculous concept. And those sorts of elements ended up being on of the movies biggest strengths for me.

After hating the Spinosaurus in JP3 and seeing it as just them trying to add a "bigger, badder monster" I assumed I'd feel the same about the Indominus Rex, but I actually quite liked it as a monster. Terrifyingly large, powerful and smart.

And now we venture into spoiler territory...

Spoiler

One thing I said going into the film was that I wanted it to restore the T-Rex at the top of the food chain. Whenever people talk about their worst JP scenes, they tend to mention gymnastics or talking dinosaurs in dreams, but I always hated when the Spinosaurus killed a T-Rex in JP3 the most. Just a blatent effort to say "look, this guys more of a badass than the T-Rex!". The T-Rex had years of being portrayed as the biggest badass on screen, then they tried to shit all over it with the shitty spinosaurus...

So did anybody else notice the subtle way they somewhat evened the score? When the T-Rex first charged at the indominus, it charged right through the skeleton of a Spinosaurus. And then played a big role in beating the fuck out of the indominus as well. It almost felt like they'd heard everything I'd ever complained about regarding JP3 and answered every single one of my wishes.

And I marked the fuck out for the JP welcome center. Felt like MGS4, going back to Shadow Moses. AWESOME.

It does feel like the true sequel to Jurassic Park, though. I think that anybody who loved the first one will not be disappointing with it, even if they hated the sequels. And if you even liked the sequels as well (As I did), you're going to fucking love it!

 

[Oaf]

Also, JJ, I agree with a lot of your post, but just wanted to give my own take on some of the issues you discussed...

I've kept your quote spoilered, but numbered all of your points with corresponding responses below...

Spoiler

1) I found the raptors angle a bit ludicrous. First Owen controls them, then he loses control. They he regains control and uses them, then he loses it again. Finally he regains control and he parts with the last raptor as a friend. Not sure about all of that to be honest. Felt like the film makers massively altered their behaviour to suit the plot.

2) How do he and the workers get the raptors into the face mask containment block things exactly? How does he know that just giving the raptors a chunk of the indominus would make them want to chase and hunt it down? Why would they not spring from containment and just turn on the humans?

3) They grew the Indominus yet didn't fully build its paddock?

4) Why did the Indominus break into the bird enclosure? What, to free them into attacking the chopper? How did it even know those birds were there?

Spoiler

1) I think the idea was that he never was actually in control of them. They sort of had a respect for him, and he'd brought them up since infancy, but they'd have torn him to shreds if he gave himself any prolonged exposure to them. It's like he said, it's a mutual respect thing... he doesn't presume to command them, while they see him as more an equal than just being pray.

About the only turn I didn't think made much sense was toward the end when they turned on the indominus... no real reason for that. But the rest of the time, they were never truly under control...

2) The fact is, they (perhaps just Owen and a few others) didn't think that the whole Raptor hunting thing would work. It's the usual JP message, you've got guys who only see the potential of using Raptors as soldiers, ignoring all of the obvious glaring problems. As it was put in the first film "they wanted to see if they could without ever asking whether they should".

However, the Raptors are animals (particularly intelligent ones at that) so there's no reason they couldn't have been trained to catch a scent and then chase it down. It'd be basic conditioning. Hell, in the earlier scene while training them Owen even used a clicker thing, something used when trying to condition dogs.

But yes, when they opened the gate, it was a massive gamble... they went and chased the scent, but they could have probably just as easily starting tearing people to shreds... I think that Owen was the only person who acknowledged the risk. But he was in a position where these guys were going to go ahead and do it anyway... and the way he saw it was that if it was going to happen, he was the person who had the most chance of keeping it under control (so far as one can control this situation).

3) They did say that the Indominus turned out to be a heck of a lot bigger than they first imagined it would be. They literally played God, but they didn't quite understand how it'd turn out. I think the basic message here (As with a lot of the points you brought up) is that yes, they made a lot of mistakes based on assumptions that they'd be able to handle any given scenario without ever really considering that there may be unexpected results. That was the theme of the first movie, and the very basis of pretty much everything Ian Malcom had to say. They assume as scientists who can do all of this stuff like bringing Dinosaurs back from extinction, they'll be able to handle such responsibility... but they never earned that power, and as a result are simply incapable of handling it.

4) A bit of a simpler one, but to me it looked as if it broke into the aviary simply to escape the bullets raining on it from the chopper. He was just taking cover... the fact that the birds took the chopper out was just a very fortunate coincidence.

 

[Craig]

Went to see it this afternoon. Really enjoyed it and pretty much agree with what's already been said. Some great scenes brought crashing down to Earth by some equally hilariously bad ones. A welcome addition to the franchise all said.

 

[Rammy]

I refuse to read the above, but I can not wait to see this. Seen it said plenty of times that this is better than 2 and Lost World. Sure neither of them were a patch on the original, but I still loved them....so if this betters them two then....

:ainsley:bama:

 

[Oaf]

That's the exact attitude I had going in... I get a feeling you're going to love it.

 

[way 4 england]

I thought the script and characters were poor which made it hard for me to get into. Even Chris Pratt who I usually have a man crush on didn't interest me. It's made me a little sad.

 

[mase]

I really enjoyed the film, best one since the first as already mentioned. I agree with everything Oaf said regarding the Raptors and being in control and the 'turns' (wwe talk there).

Couple of questionable things from me though:

Spoiler: hmmm

1) We are back on the same island from the first film. At the end of the first film, the dinosaurs are left to run rule over the island as the humans fly out of there as quick as they can. How then did the people in the new film get back to the island and manage to build a whole theme park/attraction AND maintain control over the wild dinosaurs there already? There were shitloads of dinosaurs on that island from the original film, including a load of human-hunting raptors...

2) When the boss lady lets out the T-Rex in those killer heels and on the wet, slippy ground - how the fuck did she manage to pretty much outrun it? In the first film it was able to keep up with cars and we're led to believe she can now run 30/40mph in heels? :S

3) When the boys find the old Jurassic Park HQ and get that car going - surely after 20-odd years of sitting idle in a building, that engine would never start, it should be seized up to fuck?

4) At the end when the big bad water-dino leaps out and grabs Indomonous Rex, why did it never do that to the humans/trainer when they are so close to the water?

And now, some bits I loved:

Spoiler: Yay?

1) LOVED when they found the old Jurassic Park HQ and the old banner. It made it feel like a proper sequel going back there and seeing the goggles and the cars used in the original. Also loved the statue of Hammond, the little DNA education thingy on the screens and the fact the Asian lab guy is back from the first film. Brings it back around. Also loved the fact they still used the old tried and tested 'goat on a rope' when they are doing the T-Rex feeding shows

2) I'm glad the whole Raptor-training idea wasn't as cut and dry as we all feared. Made it more believable ALTHOUGH I do think Raptors should NOT be 'friends' with anything other than their own kind - that's just the way they've always been portrayed and it works. That said, how fucking cool were they when they first get released and start hunting. BAD-ASS.

3) Damn the Indomonous Rex was a fucking bad ass, and not over-done imo. Well explained in how it is able to behave and do the things it can do. And very smart as a killer. Only bit I didn't like was it 'knowing' to take it's tracker out. They would have put that in at a very young age and how would it even know that it was a tracker and what it's for etc.?

4) So pleased they put the T-Rex back as king of the mountain (TNA talk now!)

Overall, fantastic fun. Great film for a summer blockbuster and MOST of it will be fine. Couple of flaws/plot loopholes but at least it wasn't a terrible film, which is what we all really wanted above all else, right?

 

[G.B]

gais, it's a movie about a dinosaur theme park. don't overthink it

 

[Rammy]

Well that was pretty damn awesome!

Certainly up there as the best sequel.

 

[Rammy]

Spoiler

Why did the Indominus break into the bird enclosure? What, to free them into attacking the chopper? How did it even know those birds were there?

Spoiler

They explained a reason behind this, didn't they? They said the Indominous was heading towards the visitor complex as it could detect thermal temperatures. Therefore, whilst also on the run from being under attack, it could pick up the heat coming from that enclosure.

 

[Luke_1884]

Saw it earlier and like most in this thread I loved it. All the nostalgia bringing back memories from the first film which was a childhood favourite. Top job.