In order to get myself ready for "Jurassic Park III," I watched my DVDs of the first two "Jurassic Park" movies, and I gotta tellya, the original, despite being 8 years old, is still amazing. Like most people, I was in awe of "Jurassic Park" when it was released in the summer of 1993. I saw it theatrically several times, and it wasn't because of the great story, but because the dinosaurs looked incredible. Don't get me wrong, the story wasn't bad, but the CGI and animatronic dinosaurs were revolutionary, and that was the real reason to see the movie. When the sequel, "The Lost World," was released four years later, it was darker, more violent, and the effects had improved, but the sense of awe was no longer there. Because of this, the story needed to be really good, but it wasn't. It was much weaker. There was one great part, the one with Julianne Moore and the glass slowly cracking under her, but sadly, "The Lost World" also has one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen in a Spielberg movie, perhaps in ANY movie. The part I'm referring to is when Jeff Goldblum's daughter uses her gymnastics skills to kick a velociraptor. My God, that was horrible.
So it's been another four years, and the third "Jurassic Park" movie has hit the big screen. This time, Steven Spielberg isn't the director, he's the executive producer. My initial reaction was that the movie would definitely suck. I mean, Steven Spielberg is one of the best directors in the world, who else would be a better director for the next "Jurassic Park" movie? But then I thought about it. Steven Spielberg directed "The Lost World," and that was pretty disappointing. I started thinking that maybe a new director is exactly what the third movie needs, some new blood to make things more interesting, ya know? But we'll get to him later.
Though it comes close, "Jurassic Park III" isn't as good as the original. It's much better than "The Lost World," though. Also, of the three films, "Jurassic Park III" is the darkest, most violent, and the dinosaurs are a hell of a lot meaner. You think that the T-rex is a badass? You need to see the dinosaur introduced in this movie. Actually, there are several new dinosaurs introduced, all of which are extremely vicious. Of course, those pesky velociraptors are all over the damn place, too, but these raptors are a lot meaner... and smarter.
The cast of "Jurassic Park III" is very good. For starters, Sam Neill is back as "Dr. Alan Grant." He wasn't in the second movie, so he's lucky to have been in the two good "Jurassic Park" movies. Actually, the same can be said about Laura Dern, also reprising her role, but she isn't in this movie very much. Then there's the beautiful Téa Leoni (David Duchovny's wife... she starred in "Deep Impact" and played Nicolas Cage's wife in "The Family Man") and William H. Macy (great actor who can be seen in "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia," and "Fargo"). They're both really good, though it isn't typical acting for the genre. Sure, there's screaming and running and all that, but they have some really funny dialogue, and their bickering is hilarious. Also, there's Michael Jeter (played "Eduard Delacroix," the guy with the mouse, in "The Green Mile") and Alessandro Nivola (he was in "Face/Off" as "Pollux Troy," brother of "Castor Troy" as played by Nicolas Cage/ John Travolta). They're really good, too. Like the previous two films, this "Jurassic Park" has a kid. Actually, the first one had two kids, but thankfully, they weren't as annoying as they coulda been. There was only one in the second movie, but she was so glaringly unnecessary that she became a nuisance. And of course, it doesn't help that she's the one who did that pathetic gymnastics thing. What was Spielberg thinking?!?! Ugh. But yeah, the kid in this movie is actually pretty cool. He's played by Trevor Morgan, who you may remember as the kid who picked on Haley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense." He was also one of Mel Gibson's sons in "The Patriot." He's not annoying at all in this movie. His role is a perfect example of a smart kid in an action movie who isn't screaming all the time. Trevor Morgan did a fine acting job, but credit also goes to the writers who created a good character. Actually, this movie is filled with great characters.
"Jurassic Park III" is one of those movies that was practically being written as it was being shot. Steven Spielberg came up with a very general idea, and then the script was written by Peter Buchman (debut) and Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor (together, Payne and Taylor wrote "Election" and "Citizen Ruth"... incidentally, Alexander Payne also directed those movies). Together they wrote a surprisingly good script. Then there's the director.
The director of "Jurassic Park III" was Joe Johnston, and he had a really tough job. He replaced Steven Spielberg in this highly-anticipated sequel. He pulled it off, though. His prior films include the great "October Sky" (where he worked with Laura Dern), the not so great "Jumanji," "The Rocketeer," and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." Being that those movies are family-friendly, it's surprising that this movie is so dark... more so than the previous "Jurassic Park" films, and MUCH more so than any of Johnston's prior work. Johnston did an admirable directing job, and he deserves a serious pat on the back.
"Jurassic Park III" has great action, great characters, and it's a blast to watch. Watching this movie is a lot like a roller coaster ride, and just like a roller coaster ride, it's over too quickly. When it was over, I was bummed. I wanted more. The first two movies were over two hours each, but this one is only about 90 minutes. "Jurassic Park III" moves so fast that when it's over, you're like, "what just happened?" Still, it's a very entertaining movie, the kind you just watch and enjoy. Don't ruin it for yourself by thinking too much.
This summer has been filled with it's fair share of disappointments, but "Jurassic Park III" is one of the few pleasant surprises. I think that a lotta people are expecting this movie to suck, but it's actually really good. I hope Joe Johnston sticks around to direct "Jurassic Park IV"... and believe me, there WILL be a "Jurassic Park IV."
Scale of 1-10: 8