Plot no match for dinos in “Jurassic World”

It has dinosaurs.  Anyone who likes giant prehistoric reptiles will certainly be pleased with the latest installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, which features dinosaur riding, raptor training, fields of herbivores and, of course, people being eaten alive by genetically modified monsters.

“Jurassic World” stands alone, but it draws influence from its predecessors; a particularly tense scene is set in the ruins of the atrium from the original movie, and one minor character wears a vintage “Jurassic Park” shirt for the entirety of the film (he’s chastised for being insensitive, as “people died there”) and laments that “dinosaurs used to be enough” to entertain people.  The recent scientific discoveries regarding feathered dinosaurs are brushed aside with the justification that all of the dinosaurs featured in “Jurassic World” are hybrids anyway, and the park’s higher-ups were more concerned with “coolness” than historical accuracy.

The film’s main antagonist is a 50-foot genetically modified Tyrannosaurus Rex hybrid designed to be bigger, scarier, and smarter than any other dinosaur in the park, who goes on a killing spree after her inevitable escape.  The human characters – the park’s tightly-wound manager, her adolescent nephews, and the park’s raptor trainer – exist mainly to provide perspective on her carnage.  They aren’t flat characters, but they are in no way the focus of the film.

“Jurassic World” is an excuse to watch rampaging dinosaurs destroy the humans foolish enough to bring them back from extinction.  There are some emotional moments, but the film is, at its core, an adrenaline-fueled movie about dinosaurs with no pretense of being anything more. Don’t bring small children.

The script is a decent vehicle for the action, the actors know what they’re doing, and the dinosaurs are gorgeously animated. People who like dinosaurs and don’t mind blood will enjoy this movie.  Everyone else won’t miss much by staying home.

–June 12, 2015–