Review - Jurassic World (2015)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. It's a new week, which means we're getting even closer to the June release of Jurassic World: Dominion. So, here's my review of the 2015 film Jurassic World directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Vincent D'Onofrio, Omar Sy, Jake Johnson, B.D. Wong, Katie McGrath, Judy Greer, Brain Tee, and Irrfan Khan. 

        So, the movie opens with two dinosaur eggs starting to hatch, but we don't really get an idea of what's inside of them. We then cut to the home of the Mitchells, where brothers Zach and Gray are being taken to the airport by their parents. The brothers then fly to Costa Rica, where they catch a ferry that takes them to Isla Nublar, home of Jurassic World. That's right, John Hammond's vision of a fully functional dinosaur theme park for the public has been realized, and has been in operation for several years. We then meet Claire Dearing, operations manager of the park and aunt to Zach and Gray. Claire goes to meet with potential sponsors looking to sponsor a new attraction. Remember the eggs that we saw at the beginning of the movie? Well, the creatures inside of them were part of a new species of genetically-modified hybrid dinosaur known as the Indominus Rex. 

       Claire then meets up with Zach and Gray, but tells them that she has a lot to do. However, she gives them VIP Access to all of the rides and attractions, meaning no waiting in line. Claire then meets with the park's owner Simon Masrani of the Masrani Corporation. Claire and Masrani then fly off to the still under construction paddock for the Indominus to take a look at it. While we, the viewers, don't get a good look at it, we learn that it's skin tone is a pale white, and it can sense thermal radiation in a manner similar to snakes. Masrani, concerned about the integrity of the paddock, requests that Claire speak with Owen Grady, formerly of the US Navy and currently working on another of Masrani's projects, and bring him to inspect the paddock. 

        We then meet Owen, who leads a team focused on behavioral training with Velociraptors. The raptor pack consists of four raptors: Delta, Charlie, Echo, and Blue. Among Owen's team is Barry, who like Owen has a close bond with the raptors. It's here where we meet Vic Hoskins, leader of InGen Security Operations, whose goal is to use the raptors for military practices, feeling that their natural hunting instincts make them better for military use than high-tech robotics and drone technology. Owen and Barry disagree. 

       Meanwhile, Zach and Gray are enjoying the park, including the Gentle Giants attraction, where small children can interact with baby Triceratops, Stegosaurus Apatosaurus, and so on. Zach and Gray then witness a T. Rex feeding, and enjoy the Mosasaurus exhibit in the lagoon. Claire, meanwhile, goes to meet with Owen, and we learn that they went out on a date once, but it didn't go so well. Owen agrees to check out the paddock, and goes with Claire to the paddock's location, laughing at the name Indominus Rex. Upon arriving in the observation area, they are unable to locate the Indominus, and thermal scans for it come back negative. Owen spots claw marks on a paddock wall, and everyone is afraid that the Indominus climbed out and is on the loose. Clair calls the control room, where Lowery, one of the computer techs, checks the tracking implant of the Indominus, which reveals that it never left the paddock. Unfortunately, Owen and two other workers are inside, looking at the marked-up wall. They try to get away, but the Indominus is there, and eats a worker, while the other opens a big door. Owen slips through as it closes, but the Indominus gets loose. The second worker gets eaten, but Owen survives by dousing himself in gasoline. 

         Claire returns to the control room, and the Asset Containment Unit is sent to recapture the Indominus with non-lethal weapons. Owen then arrives in the control room, and watches with Claire and Masrani as ACU goes after the Indominus and catches them off guard with it's ability to camouflage, killing many members of the ACU team, including team commander Hamada. Realizing what's happening, Owen suggests evacuation of Isla Nublar, and that ACU take down the Indominus with lethal weapons and ammunition. Claire then orders a shutdown of all attractions North of the resort, ordering all Park guests to be brought back to the resort immediately. She then calls Zara, the assistant in charge of watching over Zach and Gray, and Zara reveals that they slipped away from her. 

       Zach and Gray, meanwhile, are traversing through the valley aboard a Gyrosphere, which is a ride that allows guests to get up close to some of the park's herbivores, including Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Apatosaurus. Disobeying instructions to return to the ride station, Zach and Gray stay out a bit longer. Masrani, meanwhile, learns of what Dr. Henry Wu, the chief geneticist who created the Indominus, used to bring it to life, and how it could camouflage and hide its thermal output. Apparently, the base genome of the Indominus is Tyrannosaurus Rex, but also includes strands of DNA from an unknown species of snake, and unspecified species of cuttlefish and tree frogs, which were used to adapt the Indominus to an accelerated growth rate and a tropical climate. Masrani warns that, with this new situation, the board of directors will shut the park down and seize all of Henry's research, and no John Hammond to protect him this time. 

         Claire then gets Owen to help her get Zach and Gray back, and he agrees. Zach and Gray barely survive an encounter with the Indominus, and dive off of a cliff, arriving at the overgrown Visitors Center from the original Jurassic Park. Zach and Gray then start up a gas-powered Jeep from the old park, and make their way back to the resort. Owen and Claire, following it the boys' footsteps, make their way to the Visitors Center, and also survive an encounter with the Indominus, but hear a helicopter overhead. The helicopter, piloted by Masrani, has two ACU officers on board with a machine gun to kill the Indominus, chasing it towards the direction of the aviary, which is breached, unleashing flocks of Pteranodons and Dimorphodons. The two flocks attack park guests, and Zara is attacked by a Pteranodon, only to be eaten along with the attacking Pteranodon by the Mosasaurus. Claire reunites with Zach and Gray, and Lowery calls her to reveal that, due to Masrani's death, Hoskins is now in charge and has a plan: use the Velociraptors to hunt down the Indominus. That night, Owen confronts Hoskins over his suicidal plan, but is overruled in this instance. Owen and Barry ultimately get on board with the plan, and set in motion exactly what to expect. Owen, Barry, the raptors, and the InGen team then go after the Indominus, only to see the raptors communicate with the Indominus. It's here that Owen comes to a terrifying realization: the Indominus is part raptor. Okay, time out. So, at this point we now know all of the DNA that went into making the Indominus Rex: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor, snake, tree frog, and cuttlefish. Yeesh, 

          Anyway, the raptors turn on Owen and co, as they now recognize the Indominus as the alpha instead of Owen. Many of the InGen crew are killed, as does one of the raptors. Owen leads them on a chase towards the main plaza of the park, where he, Claire, Zach, and Gray all head to the Innovation Center, where they see that everyone, including Henry, has been evacuated. Same goes for the control room, with Lowery staying behind. Hoskins shows up, and reveals a new plan to make smaller, more obedient versions of the Indominus for military applications, but is killed by Delta, one of the raptors. Owen, Claire, Zach, and Gray head outside, where Blue and another of the raptors are waiting, and Owen reminds them of who he is, turning them against the Indominus. Blue is knocked out, and the other two raptors are killed, while Claire heads to the gate to Paddock 9, ordering Lowery to open the paddock, which releases the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Claire then draws the T. Rex towards the Indominus, and the two enter into a fight, with a returning Blue helping out. Eventually, the fight ends up near the lagoon, and the Indominus is grabbed by the Mosasaurus, and is dragged to a watery grave. Acknowledging the mutual victory, the T. Rex and Blue part ways, with Blue also leaving Owen behind after Owen reveals that he can't take her with him this time. 

        The surviving guests and staff are returned to the mainland, and Zach and Gray are reunited with their parents, with Claire and Owen deciding to stick together. We then head back to the Isla Nublar, where the T. Rex looks over the now abandoned park and lets out a massive roar, ending the movie. 

        Wow, that's a lot to unpack. But I honestly loved this movie. I think it was a stroke of brilliance that we finally got to see a fully operational dinosaur theme park, and the fact that it's on the original island, Isla Nublar, is really cool. Seeing both familiar dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor, Stegosaurus, Pteranodon, Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, Gallimimus, and a a mention of the Pachycephalosaurus was really cool. New species like the Apatosaurus, Dimorphodon, and Mosasaurus were definitely additions, with Mosasaurus definitely becoming very iconic for the advertisement for this movie. 

        Now, I admittedly was a little concerned about the idea of genetic hybrid dinosaurs, but the minute I saw the Indominus Rex, I was hooked. This thing was the stuff of nightmares, and I absolutely loved the design of it. Seriously, this thing was terrifying on the big screen. 

       The cast of this movie was really good. Chris Pratt, who just starred the year prior in Guardians of the Galaxy as Star-Lord, was fantastic as Owen Grady, and was easily one of the my favorite parts of the movie, with a lot of his one liners really making me laugh my ass off. Bryce Dallas Howard was terrific as Claire Dearing, and I definitely enjoyed her development as the movie progressed. Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins were both really good as Zach and Gray, and are probably the least bad as far as kid actors in the overall Jurassic Park series. Omar Sy, who I saw the year prior in the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past, was really good as Barry, and he really added a sense of connection to the audience and the Velociraptors. Vincent D'Onofrio as Hoskins is a great villain, but also is a bit one-note in trying to use dinosaurs for military applications. I'm sorry, but that's pretty damn stupid, and I mean a Dr. Evil level of stupid. It's definitely great to see B.D. Wong back once again as Dr. Wu, as he was an unspoken part of the first Jurassic Park movie. But easily my favorite performance was Irrfan Khan as Simon Masrani, who was just a ton of fun to watch throughout the movie. Other actors like Jake Johnson, Katie McGrath, Judy Greer, and Brain Tee are all really good as well. 

         Overall, I love this movie. While it's not as iconic as the original Jurassic Park, Jurassic World is definitely a great film and easily one of the best entries into the overall Jurassic Park franchise. Heck, Universal even recognized the film's success as, at the Universal Studios park in Los Angeles, they re-branded the Jurassic Park ride to the Jurassic World ride, including elements like the Mosasaurus, Indominus Rex, Blue, and both video and audio recordings of Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire and Chris Pratt as Owen. Recently, at the Universal resort in Florida, they've opened a ride called Jurassic World Velocicoaster, which is a high-speed roller coaster in the Velociraptor paddock from the movie. So, yeah, Jurassic World is a huge movie, and definitely learns the coveted rating of 5/5. 

      This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time when I take a look at the 2018 film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.