From a purely mercenary standpoint, it’s clear why Jurassic World exists. The previous films in the series—even the much-maligned Jurassic Park III—were incredibly profitable. Unfortunately, they achieved this by sticking to a banal formula: The featured dinosaur species change, but underneath the franchise’s techno-thriller veneer, the films are straightforward action-adventure pictures that foreground copious running and screaming. Jurassic World adheres to this tradition, and while it does nothing ground-breaking, it does unleash plenty of hair-raising dino spectacle.
Twenty-plus years after the original Jurassic Park debacle, the late John Hammond’s vision for Isla Nublar has been achieved in form of the more ambitious Jurassic World, overseen by tightly-wound operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard). In an effort to head off stagnating attendance, the park has bred a hybrid species of enormous, bipedal carnivore, Indominus Rex. To consult on its habitat, Claire reluctantly brings in resident Velociraptor whisperer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), who of course thinks the whole thing is a Bad Idea. Naturally, the I. Rex eventually slips its bonds, to catastrophic results. And naturally, this happens to coincide with a visit from Claire’s nephews Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins).
Director Colin Trevorrow—who helmed the utterly dissimilar Safety Not Guaranteed—handles the tourist-chomping mayhem with aplomb, if not inventiveness. The obligatory romantic tension between Claire and Owen is weak tea, as is the Dearing family melodrama, but as a delivery device for horror-tinged set pieces, Jurassic World is satisfying, and even intermittently enthralling. Unlike, say, superheroes or alien invaders, rampaging dinosaurs still have a glint of Saturday matinee sensation about them, and Trevorrow and his crew tap into this vibe capably. It’s mostly forgettable, but Jurassic World manages to entertain without slighting Steven Spielberg’s epochal original blockbuster.
Jurassic World opens Friday, June 12 in wide release.
