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Jurassic World – the dirty pitch: a modern-day cover of Jurassic Park with a Rock’em-Sock’em-style ending and a sizable serving of Chris Pratt because he’s very popular.

You’re only as old as you think you are. But, there’s a number associated with that thought! You can’t really get around that… But you can ignore it! Except that others won’t let you, and they’ll ask how old you are, without settling for that first statement, so happy birthday Jurassic Park, you just turned 4.

I too had a birthday this weekend, and went to see the newest Jurassic Park. If you’d rather call it Jurassic World, fine, but Jurassic Park 4 is what it is. We can call it a new installment in a franchise that can’t find a new plot no matter how redundant, and we can call it a half reboot to a 90’s epic Spielberg film, but we can also call it the Chris Pratt AND dinosaurs show… because that’s mostly what it is.

I’ll be honest I had high hopes for this film, and I won’t say I’m disappointed, but I’m not exactly content with this cover of Jurassic Park either. My feeling is akin to that excitement you have when one of your favorite rock bands from the 90’s is touring again; all jazzed that they’re playing again, but the music isn’t the same, and the feeling isn’t the same, and maybe you’re disappointed, maybe you’re thrilled, but it’s hard to recreate that magic again… because it’s worn-nostalgia, which is probably best left dormant.

Like a 90’s rock band, Jurassic World comes out and plays the hits. I can’t cover them all, but you’ll know them when you see them: you get the big T-Rex car chase, the kids alone in the park, the evil genetic embryo thief, the caged tiger breaks free, yes there are casualties, but the good guys win, the bad guys get eaten, and in between all hell breaks loose! It’s old hat, and maybe that’s not bad, but that’s a mighty big budget for a remix with a modern-day battle royal with dinosaurs.

When the first Jurassic Park came out in 1993, no matter who you were, watching dinosaurs come to life just flat out astonished you. Young or old, you were wide-eyed and giddy about seeing such creatures come to life. As an audience, we were right there with the film’s characters. Now, maybe still like the newest films’ characters, we’re jaded, and the films’ characters aren’t enamored by these dinosaurs, they’re either used to them or entertained by them. Repopping our on-screen dinosaur cherry isn’t going to happen, but at least they could try!

In some ways this film is a reboot, and tries to carry on from the previous films timeline. The park is now full-scale, and the rides are shinier and enhanced. But the beats are all the same, and the sequence becomes hair-pulling predictable. Like the old saying goes, “spare no expense” this film is an attempt at a reboot, and the story and feelings are all absent. Instead we have a spectacle, but let me further say, that it’s still a great spectacle, and one that continues to work!

What works about this film is that it’s a really, really expensive King Kong vs. Godzilla remix. There’s more suspense, more mayhem, and both literally and metaphorically there’s a proud declaration of “bigger, louder, more teeth” that rings like a mantra for the entire film. I’m not saying this is bad, but plot and story are recycled to make way for gimmicks like a new hybrid dinosaur and “how-to-train-a-raptor” like friendships.

Part of my less than jubilant reaction was that you are out of luck if you enjoyed the “junk science” from the original like I did, or the quirky mannerisms of Dr. Ian Malcolm who easily beats out Chris Pratt for the smirk-factor, and that’s ok. Jurassic World isn’t really trying in those areas, it’s simply gearing up for the finale, both by necessity and by indulgence. Clearly the numbers are there, and you’re not reading this trying to decide if you’ll see Jurassic World, because you’ve probably already seen it, or will soon. But after the dinosaur fireworks, I left the theater unsure of whether I really like it or not.

Part of me felt like I just watched an episode of I love the 90’s Jurassic Park edition, where every popular scene was repurposed for a wrestlemania like dinosaur battle, while the other part just said hey… that was fun. No more, no less.

This fun is partially un-weathered nostalgia dating back to 1993. I had a small collection of English-dubbed Godzilla movies- the crown jewel of which was King Kong vs. Godzilla. I might have watched these movies over 50 times, and when King Kong and Godzilla went toe-to-toe, I would lean in for the title bout every time! Watching the new Jurassic World is a flash-back to this memory, and it’s WAY more polished than those Japanese dubs, but that’s the gist of this story. While the kid in me loves seeing 65 million year-old extinct monsters battle for supremacy, the adult in me really wanted a Spielberg moment: where being a kid, no matter what age you are, shines through the screen because it’s not just about the dinosaurs, its about us being part of that story. Maybe Spielberg is too grown up, and I like he, can’t squeeze out the best of both worlds, but even if you sacrifice the story, the dinosaurs still rule the screen!

Reviewed by: Wes Bernstein on June 16, 2015