The BQP Movie Review: Jurassic World, Of Savage Dinos and The Need for More Teeth

In another reboot of Steven Spielberg’s epic Jurassic franchise (three movies plus one), audiences around the world are offered gigantic servings of dino gore and screaming parkgoers.  Hollywood, it seems, hasn’t  tired of the idea of million-old-gargantuans roaming “free” in an island attraction that ALWAYS ends up in a bloody disaster.  Why should it? It’s a wining formula that has brought in major money and box office hits one after another! In it’s most exciting installment yet, there is no question that savage dinos still reign in JURASSIC WORLD.

The multiple monster mess of dinosaurs gone amuck in the past is conveniently forgotten in the latest installment.  The movie starts with thousands of people visiting Jurassic World which now boasts of  hotels, restaurants and state-of-the-art attractions (that guest-driven fiber glass sphere is ingenious!).  The film directed by Collin Trevvorow (he delivered, by the way, considering that this is only his second film) had so many brands onboard that you just CAN’T miss it.  Starbucks, the Mercedes Benz crest in ten frames at least and Margaritaville.
The sequences showing kids riding on baby triceratops, people on wooden boats paddling in the river while a herd of Diplodocus roam nearby and –I simply can’t get over this —- hundreds of park guests seated in rafters watching a gigantic shark hanging from a crane and being swallowed by a Godzilla-like sea dinosaur that just swooped up from under the water , left me thinking I won’t do ANY of that!  What if the triceratops steps on my child or the didplodocus decides to randomly pick me up from the boat OR that sea creature makes lunch out of the whole crowd?  I was expecting Mr. Mammoth Sea Beast to eat the announcer of the attraction too!

Chris Pratt plays Owen Grady, an ex-navy turned velociraptor trainor.  His pack of “tamed” velociraptors  (oxymoron is intended as we all know that the raptors are the smartest and the most lethal of predators) prove instrumental in hunting the movie’s main antagonist – the Indominus Rex.  I-Rex is a  genetically engineered hybrid designed as Isla Nublar’s next big draw “because no one is impressed by a dinosaur anymore.”   Playing Pratt’s unlikely partner is Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire – woman-in-command of operations of Jurassic World.  Sorry folks,  but her stiff angular haircut distracted me to no end –and those heels !!! She manages to run effortlessly without stumbling or breaking her ankle while being chased by both the I-Rex AND the T-Rex!

The  action begins when the I-Rex which has been raised in isolation escapes its walled confinement, claws out its tracker and starts killing the other dinos for sport.  Add to this mayhem, your villains — a scheming con  man who wants to use the raptors in combat ,and always, the scientist who wants to make more than what he’s being paid by the park owners (we know this plot by now).  Put in two visiting young brothers (Howard’s nephews in the film) to the mix  and the plot thickens.  There’s the expected dinos wreaking havoc while the madding crowd run for their lives , but much of the action happens away from the public.

In the climax fight scene , where the  I-Rex would seemingly appear to chomp, bite, snarl her way to victory against all her helpless opponents, Claire’s younger nephew says in fright “We need more teeth!”  This prompts high-heeled Claire to run to paddock 9 , order her cowardly assistant to open the gate, and escort a beast with “more teeth” to help them win the battle.  Again, superhuman Claire shows us her running ability is superior to any beast in the island.
In the end,  an unlikely alliance between man and beast transpires.  Of course, much earlier than this, villain scientist has already escaped with his frozen hybrid dinosaur creations on board a chopper.  This just tells us Executive Producer Steven Spielberg is already cooking up Jurassic Universe next! Stay tuned!