Jurassic World

A real-life version of Jurassic World would surely run a ginormous bill. There's all the mechanical costs, biological costs and the legal fees if something goes inevitably wrong. But the film makes me want to settle for the next best thing: Universal Studios Hollywood.

Isla Nublar, site of the ill-fated Jurassic Park, is now home to the thriving Jurassic World. Year after year, tourists flock en-masse to see the island's living prehistoric residents. But the novelty wore off and attendance started to decline. Its owners need a new attraction to drive up attendance.

The Park's scientists create a genetic hybrid called the Indominus Rex. The new dinosaur proves to be highly-intelligent and vicious. Raptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) is called to inspect the I. Rex's enclosure, but he nearly becomes chowder when she escapes. Owen and operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) have to help clear out the park and contain the I. Rex before she kills everything.

Despite its simple sounding plot, Jurassic World finds time for a meaningful story. It takes quite a while before the I. Rex escapes and kicks off the action. We see the characters explore the park and work it from behind the scenes. (They do that too after the escape but under stricter circumstances.) They even discuss the importance of properly socializing wild animals. It gave the film much needed substance.

The only human veteran in the cast is B.D. Wong as geneticist Dr. Wu, here with a much bigger role. The new characters with him are a memorable bunch. Owen is the laid back guy who gets serious when he needs to. Claire is the workaholic who learns to run and fight for her life. Park Security Chief Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) reminded me of Burke from Aliens, right down to a similar demise. And then there's the mammoth Mosasaurus; she appears in three scenes, and it's the third that'll draw a good chuckle.

I didn't adjust to the effects at first. The CGI made the dinosaurs too obviously animated creatures. Fortunately, the CGI got better as the film went on. It helped that, like its predecessors, it used animatronic dinosaurs for close-up scenes. It really helped with their acting.

Although it wasn't filmed in any of Universal's parks, I can't help but recall my visit to Universal Studios Orlando in 2010. The production designers made it look like an authentic theme park. The scale, the color, the layout, it's just as I remember. I'm sure attendance will spike on the Jurassic Park rides in the wake of this movie.

Jurassic Park III was just average in the long run. Jurassic World, on the other hand, was an exciting, meaningful cinematic effort. It surpassed quite a bit of my story expectations. As for its visual expectations, it most certainly deserves to be seen on a big screen.