How do you follow one of the most iconic movies ever made?
For a generation of film fans (myself included), 1993’s Jurassic Park was perhaps the first genuinely great film we were able to see at the cinema.
Sadly, The Lost World (1997) and Jurassic Park 3 (2001) – despite being largely enjoyable – never really reached the sky-high standards of the Steven Spielberg original. Enter Jurassic World, which feels much more like a genuine sequel (and essentially ignores the existence of the previous two movies).
If you love the original, this will quite possibly be your film of the year.
Without ever looking to copy or rehash, Jurassic World manages to capture the magic of its predecessor and delivers one of the most enjoyable cinematic experiences in recent memory.
Keeping the timeline intact, some 22 years have passed since the disaster on Isla Nublar. Despite John Hammond not being so keen to endorse his own park back then, his dream has finally been realised.
That’s right, the newly-named Jurassic World is a fully-operational theme park packed full with thousands of dinosaurs. Infact, it’s so accessible and successful that it has even become boring to some.
With that in mind, Dr Henry Wu (the returning BD Wong) and his team are asked to engineer a terrifying new species of dinosaur in a bid to drum up interest and bring back the wow factor (what would Dr Alan Grant think).
Of course, creating the wonderfully scary “Indominus Rex” proves to be a terrible idea. So, when the beast breaks out of it’s pen the park and it’s many guests (including the other dinosaurs) are all potential notches on the Indominus’ kill list.
The human angle we follow this time around rotates around control-freak Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard – The Twilight Saga). She’s in charge of the park, but is also reluctantly given the responsibility of looking after nephews Zach (Nick Robinson – Boardwalk Empire) and Gray (Ty Simpkins – Iron Man 3).
Much like the kids in the first movie, they are very much in harm’s way when the brown stuff hits the fan, forcing Claire to ask street-wise ex-marine Owen (Chris Pratt – Guardians of The Galaxy) to help her track them down.
There’s a bit of history between Owen and Claire, but their chemistry is great – without ever becoming too cheesy.
Meanwhile, there’s a side plot involving Irrfan Khan’s (Life of Pi) Simon Masrani, who is the man who made John Hammond’s Jurassic dream a reality, and Vincent D’Onofrio’s (Daredevil) character Hoskins.
Without wishing to do any spoiling, Hoskins has a very keen interest in teaching the dinosaurs to become a weapon to be used on the battlefield (you’ll probably have seen the trailers involving raptors racing alongside Pratt on his motorbike).
You can draw plenty of similarities between Jurassic Park and World story-wise, which really worked for me.
It’s loaded with glorious Easter eggs for fans of the original too, without ever going over the top.
Pratt is also the perfect choice as the all-action male lead. His charisma and star quality really bring plenty to the table.
Equally, Howard is an absolute revelation as Claire – making me wonder why she’s not headlined a blockbuster of this magnitude before.
The dinosaurs themselves, of course, are the real main event. They look even better than before in glorious 3D, making Jurassic World a truly memorable cinematic experience.
It may be a little too scary for young children, but this is a blockbuster that everyone in the family will delight in watching.
Voice Verdict: 9.5/10
+ Finally the sequel Jurassic Park deserved
+Pratt/Howard shine
+ Brilliantly scary dinosaurs
+ Easter eggs galore
SHOWTIMES
Boston’s West End Cinema (Fri, June 19 to Thurs, June 25)
Email: [email protected]
Box office: 01205 363634
Web: www.westendcinema.co.uk/SavoyBoston
**ENTOURAGE (15)
1pm (Sat/Sun/Weds), 3.30pm (daily), 5.45pm (Fri), 6pm (not Fri),
8.30pm (daily)
**THE LONGEST RIDE (12A)
Noon (Sat/Sun), 2.45pm (Sat/Sun), 5.30pm (daily), 8.15pm (daily)
JURASSIC WORLD 3D (12A)
10.15am (Sat/Sun), 1pm (Sat/Sun/Weds), 4pm (daily), 7pm (daily)
JURASSIC WORLD 2D (12A)
11.30am (Sat/Sun/Weds), 2.30pm (Fri/Sat/Sun/Weds), 5.30pm (daily), 8.30pm (daily)
SAN ANDREAS 2D
(12A) 10.30am (Sat/Sun)
SAN ANDREAS 3D (12A)
1.15pm (Sat/Sun/Weds), 3.45pm (daily)
SPY (15)
2.45pm (Fri), 8.40pm (not Fri)
PITCH PERFECT 2 (12A)
10am (Sat/Sun)
KIDS’ CLUB
Sat/Sun 10.30am – Home 2D (U)
SILVER SCREEN
Wed 11.30am – Spy (15)
** FREE LIST SUSPENDED
Spalding’s South Holland Centre (Fri, June 19 to Thurs, June 25)
Box office: 01775 764777
Web: www.southhollandcentre.co.uk
CHILD 44 (15)
2pm (Tues), 6.30pm (Thurs), 7.30pm (Mon/Tues/Wed)
