'Jurassic Park III': More scary dinos but less surprises

'Jurassic Park III': More scary dinos but less surprises

By Joko E.H. Anwar

Jurassic Park III, **1/2 out of four stars;
Adventure/Sci-Fi, 92 minutes;
Starring Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni, Alessandro
Nivola, Laura Dern;
Directed by Joe Johnston;
An Amblin Entertainment/United International Pictures/Universal
Pictures Production

JAKARTA (JP): You knew there would be another Jurassic Park
film, just knew it, after watching the first sequel of one of the
biggest grossing films of all time left the door open for another
follow-up.

This installment features a fresher and far more sophisticated
plot that guarantees to keep your intellectual brain spinning.
Kidding!

Of course the movie is still about a bunch of dinosaurs
chasing after (and eating) stubborn yahoos who seem to have never
listened to the warning about going to an island full of
prehistoric beasts.

But, just like the flick itself, it appears that film
audiences can never get enough of watching gigantic beasts
chopping off people's heads, so a spot at the box office was
guaranteed for the film long before shooting was completed.

Let's ask ourselves, what is wrong with that? After all, all
movies should not be mind-bogglingly enriching like Billy Elliot
or Being John Malkovich to name a few.

Think of it as an amusement park, except you do not have to go
there yourself. Certainly, it is a very exciting amusement park
put on our screens.

Once you accept the fact that the film is not there to
stimulate your intelligence but to give you enough scares to
enjoy with your family, then you will agree that the film
delivers.

Plus, as the film is no longer directed by Steven Spielberg,
your expectations are unlikely be as high as when you watched
Jurassic Park: The Lost World.

And by the way, when you bring your family to watch the film,
be sure to leave your very young children at home with their
babysitters since, like its predecessors, the film features
intense violence which might not only make your children throw
away their dino toys but also give them some nightmares.

So, is Jurassic Park III really the same flick as the early
sequels?

Well, it does offer something. Nothing new but, well, there is
some improvement (but certainly not in the story, we all have to
agree on that).

What makes it worth sitting through is the chance to see how
the series is catching up on technical advances since the last
release. True, the special effects are more sophisticated than
earlier entries, which make the dinosaurs look more lifelike and
impressive.

At some points, you will even take them for granted and forget
the fact that the beasts are just combinations of moving models
and zillions of pixels of computer animation.

The new film also features more dinosaurs -- including a new
collecting of flesh-eating dinosaurs -- with improved rendering
compared with its two predecessors.

The first one, spinosaurus, is a clever man-eating beast which
is even bigger than T-rex and has an enormous crocodile-shaped
mouth.

There is also an impressive scene featuring a showdown between
the new animal with T-rex, which is worth half of the admission
price in itself.

But there's no need to worry, you will still get to see the
raptors, this time they are smarter and scarier than ever and
more defined-looking.

Flying monsters with bat wings are also among the new
collection. No, they are not pterodactyls, but fictitious beasts
called pteranodons who snatch up humans to take back to their
nests to feed their hungry babies.

The film opens with a man and a boy parasailing off the
restricted Isla Sorna, another island where the InGen corporation
once bred living dinosaurs. The boat which pulls their parachute
is then attacked by something, which strands them on the island
full of dinos.

In the meantime, the original paleontologist from the first
Jurassic Park, Alan Grant (Sam Neill), is trying to do his
research on the raptors' intelligence when a rich couple, Paul
and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni), offer him a job
as a guide for an aerial tour over Isla Sorna.

Before long, Grant and some other men hired by the rich couple
agree to help them.

As predicted, things rapidly go wrong as the couple insist on
landing on the island after knocking Grant unconscious.

Just as they land, they are attacked by a spinosaurus. They
try to take off again but it's too late because their fate is to
be stranded on the island to keep the film going.

Reportedly, the film, which is not based on any of Michael
Crichton's dino sagas, was shot without a completed script.

But, to its advantage, the movie was supported by an A-list
cast who, despite not having much to work with, put in some
interesting performances.