Great Film: Jurassic Park III
Works on the basis that you don't expect something remotely as fascinating as the original, but still hunger for a shallow 90 minute thrill ride. *** (out of four)
JURASSIC PARK 3 / (2001) *** (out of four)
By Blake French:
"Jurassic Park 3" is not as good as the first but a whole lot better than
the second. It's also the first film in the series that is not based on a
novel by Michael Crichton. That's basically "JP3" in a nutshell. It's not
necessarily a great movie, nor does it break any new grounds of adventure or
take many risks, but it does take advantage of all the creative ideas. You
will not hear anyone in the audience complain that the movie isn't
inventive, because these writers, Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim
Taylor, really have an imagination.
The story takes place eight years after the incident at Jurassic Park. Dr.
Alan Grant (Sam Neill) still works as a paleontologist on dinosaur dig sites
in Montana with his young assistant Billy (Alessandro Nivola). He's offered
a good sum of money by a wealthy couple (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni) who
want Grant to guild them on a flight over Isla Sorna-also owned by the
dinosaur cooperation. Sam agrees, but once over the island, something goes
wrong and he's once again stuck on the dinosaur infested territory fighting
for his life.
"Jurassic Park 3" is complied with stunning brevity. The dialogue is
concise and doesn't wonder. The character's relationships are instantly
obvious. It's very clear that this film is shorter, cheaper, and more simple
than its predecessors. That is not such a bad thing. The second Jurassic
Park was terrible-an all star cast placed in situation and situation where
they run from big monstrous creatures. Although "Jurassic Park 3" is more or
less the same formula, it gets sassy and fresh. Eye-popping special effects
involve everything from a bird-dinosaur attempting to feed a human to its
babies to a massive battle between a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a new breed of
lizard called Spinosaurus. Some of these scenes do not really work.
Amazingly, many succeed.
I have various complaints about the movie. There are not enough violent
encounters to keep the audiences interested throughout. Unlike the first two
films, the dinos in "JP3" only eat a handful of characters and they occur in
the opening half hour. You can probably guess the characters who meet a
graphic demise; anyone who is billed in the film's credits that you have
heard of will probably live. I also think the movie needs more thrills. It
seems as if the producers are more interested in proving to the audience
that these dinosaurs are really smart rather than focusing on lean, clean
terror.
Regardless of the pictures many problems, during a summer movie season
jam-packed with special effects extravaganzas that don't work ("The Mummy
Returns," "Pearl Harbor," "Planet of the Apes," "The Fast and he Furious,"
and "Swordfirsh" to name a few) finally comes one that does. I recommend
"Jurassic Park 3" on the basis that you don't expect something remotely as
fascinating as the original, but still hunger for a shallow 90 minute thrill
ride.
Cast
- Paul Kirby played by William H. Macy
- Dr. Alan Grant played by Sam Neill
- Enrique Cardoso played by Julio Oscar Mechoso
- Billy Brennan played by Alessandro Nivola
- Amanda Kirby played by Téa Leoni
- Erik Kirby played by Trevor Morgan
- Mr. Udesky played by Michael Jeter
