Movie Info
Movie Name: Jurassic Park III
Studio: Amblin Entertainment
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): July 18, 2001
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Another nice day for a jog in the park
Alan Grant (Sam Neill) is contacted by Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni) to do a fly over of Isla Sorna…home of the first Jurassic Park. When the Kirbys order the plane to land on Isla Sorna, Grant learns that he’s been brought on to find their missing son Eric (Trevor Morgan) who accidentally was lost on Isla Sorna during a parasailing accident. Now Grant, the Kirbys, and their assistant Billy Brennan (Alessandro Nivola) must find Eric and get off the island. When the dinosaurs of the island begin tracking the group, a new dinosaur called the spinosaurus proves to be more dangerous than tyrannosaurus rex.
My goal is to make T-Rex look like a wuss
Joe Johnston takes over directing from Steven Spielberg (who still serves as a producer) and Johnston gives the movie a feel more like the original Jurassic Park. Critics like the sequel for the most part, but fans weren’t kind to the movie and the movie is the least profitable of the series.
I actually enjoy Jurassic Park III. It think it is a kind of fun, no-brainer action movie. The “chase theme” set up in the movie forces the characters to keep moving. The continuous motion of the story allows them to travel more of the island (which has broken down from the original Jurassic Park) and encounter some of the hidden dinosaurs (like the pteranodon cage). It is additions like this are things which raise Jurassic Park III over Lost World.
Oh man! Raptors everywhere, no weapons, this ending is going to be epic! No…no it’s not.
The movie does have some drawbacks. There isn’t much character development…there is a lot of running and gunning and the end of the movie with the showdown with the velociraptors is so abrupt that it feels like there should be more movie after it. The whole island hopping aspect of the movie also is a bit wasted. Now there are two island with living dinosaurs on them (Site B from Lost World). It seems less likely that they could be “contained” to either island or a purpose to the two islands. They either should have said Jurassic Park was destroyed or destroyed Site B, but not have two dinosaur islands that dilute the rarity of the creatures. The Kirbys can’t be the only people to go to the islands.
Jurassic Park III was better than Lost World. It showed signs of improvement in graphics and pacing. It also felt like there should be an immediate sequel. The movie is scheduled for a sequel in 2013, but I wonder if the dinosaurs have missed the boat and are ready to move on.
Related Links:
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
