Film Review – ‘Jurassic World’

20 years after the original Jurassic Park went horribly wrong we return to the island to be introduced to the all new dinosaur theme park Jurassic World… which goes horribly wrong.

After you’ve recovered from the groaning and sighing brought on by yet another prequel/sequel/remake/adaptation blockbuster hitting your every newsfeed, it’s likely out of loyalty alone you may find yourself heading to the local cineplex to watch the latest Jurassic Park movie. Whilst we at Yack! don’t encourage this, we can’t truly advise against it either. Here’s our review of the latest (and we’re hoping final) instalment in the dino franchise.

A hefty chunk of Jurassic World’s appeal is based in memorabilia. If you weren’t old/young enough to be dizzy with dino excitement for the first film, I doubt this one is going to offer you anything particularly amazing. The fact is you have to have at least seen and enjoyed Jurassic Park for this film to really make any impact at all. On offer for the observant and geeky eye are a ridiculous amount of easter eggs and nerdy fan service. Dr Malcolm’s sweet atheist face can be seen sneering out from the back of books being read by the cast of the film. There is an entire portion where the new kids explore the derelict museum where the memorable Velociraptor kitchen scene took place, they even make a nod to the eternal question of “how the fuck did a T-Rex get into such a small space unnoticed” in one of the most amazing pieces of unexplained cinema goofs by having the new improved T-Rexzilla smash through the walls in order to make an appearance. We even get reunited with the T-Rex from the original film at one point in the film, the cameo indicated by some facial scarring. Richard Attenborough‘s legacy lives on as Hammond’s name decorates the park and the lips of it’s current staff as a constant reminder of that beautiful bearded Santasaurus Rex and finally a digitised Jimmy Fallon get’s all smashed up and stuck on repeat in an echo of the often quoted “Uh uh uh, you didn’t say the magic word”. It’s all a lot of fun, if you’re paying attention.

The film itself doesn’t lack merit, Chris Pratt puts in a solid effort as a likeable, rogueish badass. Something that is becoming somewhat of a trademark for the actor that used to be chubby comedic relief at best. He’s pretty much Han Solo in every film he’s in now, which is not something to complain about and in fact something we would always pay to see. Bryce Dallas Howard treads the line between strong independent woman and bitch with some aplomb putting in a fairly believable turn in as a heroine in high heels. The kids could not have been cast better Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson make watching kids get terrorised by dinosaurs fun again, something that is unfortunately lacking in a lot of modern cinema. Joking aside child actors are either irritating as heck or endearing, these two fall into the latter category. Ty Simpkins’ adorkable child prodigy is empathy inducing and Nick Robinson puts in a solid effort as the jerky teen with a heart of gold. Favourite character award however has to go to Jake Johnson who provides constant comedic relief in his role as the extremely geeky tech room assistant and steals every scene he’s in, the awkward kiss scene ranks among the few times we audibly giggled.

The film pinballs from one side of the island to the other with just tonnes of Dinosaurs, death and adrenaline. The script is punchy and to the point and the pacing never falters. It certainly isn’t going to leave you bored. Don’t know if it’s got much rewatch value or if it’s even worth watching on a small screen, but it’s definitely a damn fine excuse to grab some popcorn and head to the cinema, so get involved why you still can.

7/10

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