'Jurassic World': Worth the Admission?

On June 11, 1993 the critically acclaimed director Steven Spielberg gifted mankind with a film that would breathe life back into the age-old stories of the beasts that once roamed the earth before their untimely doom. As a result, these beasts...these dinosaurs, awakened the passion and fear in us for a world once lost that we never got to experience.  Left with only fragile remnants of their passed lives, we humans latched onto the scaly hands of 'Jurassic Park' with a sense of caution and excitement that drove us to long for the breathtaking beauty that radiated with the creatures of old. We didn't want that feeling to go away.

22 years later we're struggling to gasp for air as we are continually bombarded with sequels upon sequels upon sequels upon remakes upon adaptations. 'Jurassic World' peered it's thorny claws out from hiding and we were instantly enamored. I couldn't wait to take a trip to the park again. It's open and I want to go on every single ride this park has to offer. New attractions, new faces, new experiences.

127 minutes later I'm on the boat leaving Isla Nubar with ticket stub in hand. The question that burns to be answered is: Was it worth the admission?

Image found on highsnobiety

'Jurassic World' takes place 22 years after the events of 'Jurassic Park' on the island of Isla Nubar which is now home to the new and oh-so-creatively named Jurassic World Theme Park. What was once a theme park concept is now a beautiful island-wide adventure that beckons the audience to come and explore. It is wildly successful but to keep up with consumer demands there's a secret in the works, that is, a secret that is sure to keep people coming back for more for years to come. Cool guy and CEO Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan) is willing to do this at almost any cost as long as it creates something that isn't necessarily profitable, but memorable. Meanwhile, lovable brothers Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson) are visiting their not-exactly-sure-what-her-job-is aunt Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) who is so busy that they are left to experience the park on their own supervision. All the while the-real-reason-you-wanna-watch-this-movie ex-Navy officer Owen has to maintain control of some raptors on the island and is suddenly called away to help deal with the lovely surprise that is set to make guests want to come back. Because no one ever learns from history prequels (rule #20 of the Movie Rulebook), the surprise fails tremendously and Owen is left to fix up some sort of solution and deal with N-Gen promoter/annoying guy Hoskins (Vincent D'onofrio) who wants to weaponize the dinosaurs for military use.

Yea. There's a lot going on here.

Old fans of the series may find the weighty storyline to be a bit hard to adjust to. There's a lot going on and it was pretty hard sometimes to keep up with everybody and try to actually care for the characters. 'Jurassic World' is ambitious and sometimes it trips itself up in being that way and this robs the characters from being all that they can be. Everyone played their roles pretty well but at times it really felt choked as a result of the fast-paced plot that demanded character development like a raptor hungry for prey. Some interactions were really, really awkward and the dialogue was meh at best. At times I felt like the role of Owen didn't even deserve the hilariously and Starlord-y Chris Pratt and there were just times I face-palmed hard as a result of the cringe-worthy lines. The story itself was good and I will tip my hat for the effort that went into trying to elevate 'Jurassic Park' beyond the we-are-hopelessly-trapped-on-an-island storyline. I'm not exactly sure what director Colin Trevorrow was going for but it was very obvious that director Colin Trevorrow didn't want this film to follow suit of it's ancestors.

Image found on Huffington Post

I have to say that making a fourth installment in a series, and an old one at that, is no easy feat. The series started off on a high note and progressively rolled downhill so it's understandable why someone would want to dust off the old fossil and give it another try. For a fourth installment 'Jurassic World' did almost everything it was supposed to do right. There was a good amount of cameos by the relics of movies past. You get to see the old laboratory, some old props and even some old dino-friends as you walk through the film. Fans of the series will get their much due throwback feels and I think that's one of the main reasons to go and see this film. Newcomers may not be able to grasp any of that right away but there's enough new content and stuff going on in 'Jurassic World' that it will keep everyone of all ages busy using their brains to keep track of everything going on. One of the best things about this film is that it really gives the dinosaurs some of the attention they've always deserved in this series. You get a chance to see almost every type of dinosaur the park has to offer and yes, even pterodactyls (Finally!). Even in the age of CG 'Jurassic World' went above and beyond to bring a sense of realism to the walking beasts. the element of human interaction was cleverly used and it was refreshing to see that for a change. It was generally a great time and almost everything a 'Jurassic Park' fan can ask for in yet another installment...but the park wasn't without it's problems.

Image found on Hypable

This is where I got upset.

Product placement.

Okay I understand that films need funding and are by no means a cheap venture to undertake but the amount of blatant, and I emphasize blatant, in your face product placement came across as almost pitiful. You will hear and see the following brands: Samsung, Apple, Doritos, Coke, Mercedes, Starbucks, and the infamous Beats headphones (arguably can be a part of the Apple branding). Every driving scene will have a Mercedes car and every phone call will showcase the Samsung Galaxy phone product line. I know it doesn't really bother some people but for me it cheapens the experience because I feel like I just paid $11.50 to see an advertisement in the middle of my video. I wish that sort of thing can just be left to YouTube and Hulu. What drove it home even more was that the film itself had to make a joke about it to get the audience to shrug it off. Even though it makes sense that to open up a dinosaur theme park and convince the general public that it's a good and safe idea, one would need to help of some of the biggest businesses in the world just to make that happen. I just don't like feeling like I'm in an outlet store on some strip mall when I'm paying to escape reality and watch a movie in a dark theater. If I wanted that I'd go through the mall that's about a minute and a half walk from my seat.

Anyway.

The only other problem I had was that my face was hurting by the end credits. Why? Because of face-palms that's why. Granted, the 'Jurassic Park' series needs a certain amount of human stupidity and ignorance to keep the story moving forward, as most series do, and I accept that. There were just times where the stupidity and ignorance (most notably the character of Claire) went over the edge and then some. I'm all for accepting what most films will throw at me but there's a point where a film has to take it's audience seriously. A lot of moments had audience members, me included, wondering how-on-God's-green-and-round-planet-Earth can [insert character name here] not know anything about the business they're working at? How are they not prepared for this? Thankfully it wasn't enough to make me want to move off to a desert somewhere just to escape humanity like 'Jurassic Park III' did but it was still pretty ridiculous at points. At least if you're gonna shove a Samsung phone, TV and watch down my throat the least you can do is think that I'm not a 10 year old caveman.

Image found on Slashfilm

All in all I will have to admit that 'Jurassic World' was a pretty good movie. At it's very worst it's enjoyable, lovable and action-packed at heart and generally everyone will accept that. As a long time fan I couldn't help but feel honored to know that the film went to some lengths to make it feel like old times again and I really appreciated that. Some hiccups hold 'Jurassic World' back from being something really great but for a fourth installment to a long-time extinct series it did its job pretty dark well. It would have to be some time before I rush to watch this again in theaters but you bet your Helix Fossil that I'm adding this to my Blu-ray collection. I have to say, I had a good time at the park. It was definitely worth the admission and even some recommendations to my friends but it'll be a while before I go back. The memories are all I need for now.