Jurassic World - Discussion and Grading
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Watched it on IMAX 3D, well worth the price. The last 20 minutes or so are why you are there. Just epic
I was more worried about the baby triceratops in the petting zoo than the kids.
Sgt. Pepper
Lieutenant Commander
Saw it tonight. It was packed in the theater and people clapped at the end. I thought it was pretty good and very much what I expected. No real surprises, but I still enjoyed it. I gave it a B. It was better than Jurrasic Park 3 and The Lost World, but nothing beats the first one.
There was another issue with the kids. In each of the films, there have been one or two kids with parents who were either in a rough patch in their relationship (TLW) or were divorcing (JP, JP III, JP IV). So, what I get from the films, let's throw children from one trauma into another. This will be good for them. Huh? (I come from a broken home.) I would have made the kids be part of a healthy family. They are traveling on a monorail, when the crisis unfolds, and ,during this incident, the monorail train is derailed. We see how the family survives the crash, and how the family becomes stronger. I would have written in that the park officials are taking every effort to save them and the other passengers. Always present was the palpable sense that danger was near. (Some of the biggest gotcha moments of the film were in the trailers, so the biggest surprise was the ending.)
There were instances where I was puzzled. So, Marsani has a talk with Wu. He learns that he signed off the I. Rex and that the project is largely classified, even to him. Huh? He is the top officer of his corporation - a corporation that, according to the faux website for it, was founded by him. There is nothing that is unknown for him. For such a successful person, a person who is the eighth richest person in the world, I never believed for once that the character that I see in the film is the same as described in the dialog nor in the faux websites. So, what comes of this conversation? Nothing. Marsani never pushes back for full disclosure of what created the dinosaur nor calls a conference to discuss what was done to create this dinosaur with his top officers at the park. I would have written Marsani as a corporate founder and entrepenaur would be. I am thinking of how Carnegie dealt with the striking miners in 1892.
Then there is Marsani taking the helicopter for the assault. What happened to his trainer? The last time I saw him he is sick for no explicable reason. Marsani is the PIC and the PF - why isn't the Vietnam vet the PIC and the PF? why is he the PNF? (PIC - Pilot in Charge; PF - Pilot Flying; PNF - Pilot Not Flying - actual terms used in aviation) I would not have written Marsani as the pilot - I would have written him as leading from the control room. And, I would have written the capture or killing of the creature as being something intelligent - maybe a corraling of the creature.
As the valley was being evacuated, there is a scene that has a first act, a second act, and no third act. The operator is seen being called to inform the visitors that the park is being closed. He informs the visitors, who respond by kvetching and ignoring the operator. How is this scene resolved, who convinces the visitors to return to the resort? It is left hanging.
Then, there is the matter of the visitors themselves. There are 22,216 or so of these individuals. Why aren't they moved to their hotels, so they are not exposed to heat exhaustion (there are scenes of the visitors suffering in the heat), and they are safe from the dinosaurs? I saw a hotel room, when Zara introduces the kids to their room. It is located across a body of water from the mall. This is a safe location. (And, it wouldn't require a mass evacuation of the island.) It would have been nice to have a scene of a mock drill on a normal day, or at least a mention of such an event. Like the trainer, the hotels mysteriosly disappeared. In my version, i would have written that the visitors are moved to the hotels for safety. Some of the visitors returning to the hotels would have been detoured from their course as the incident unfolds. If I was to follow the film, I would have shown the flying dinosaurs flying past the hotels and the visitors watching the spectacle in stunned atonishment. There would have been no aerial blitzkrieg.
Then, there is the continuity. They screwed up the location of the visitor's center from the first film. It would be located where the mall is located in the fourth film; it isn't located in the north side of the island, in the restricted area of the island. The kids would never have discovered the visitor's center, for it would have been demolished to make way for the mall. (This is based on the maps seen in the first and fourth films.)
I don't believe for one second the military would have accepted the Velociraptors and other dinosaur as successors to drones and dogs. I read about the history of the military dog program in World War II. People who were proponents of dogs being used in war had to convince the brass for two years that this was a legitimate idea. Then, the animals were treated to a battery of mental and physical tests before they were accepted into the training program. The testers were looking for animals who were loyal, obedient, intelligent, and motivated. Many of these animals came from the homes of families who donated their pets to the war effort. The raptors would have failed the tests. The military was careful about which animals were used - they used bats, pigeons, and dogs. Bats and pigeons were tested for the possibility of using them as mobile bomb carriers. Bats would have carried incidenary bombs into Japanese cities and towns, and pigeons would have carried explosives into ships. InGen and Marsani have created animals that far too docile (as demonstrated as easily the I. Rex managed to decimate five or six of the sauropods) or far too hostile.
And, honestly, I don't believe that Middle East militia would be frightened by dinosaurs. Some of these militia fighters are loco - they drive mobile improvised explosive devices into the front lines of enemy troops. Initially, they would be frightened by these animals - then, they would recover from their shock, and would decimate the animals. Or, in the worst case scenario, capture the animals and use them against their enemies. Or, in another worst case scenario, the animals would have turned against their handlers. This happened in the Eastern Front during World War II, with the anti-tank dogs. The dogs were trained for delivering explosives to German tanks. It failed for multiple reasons.
I know that I have been ripping the film apart. There are some parts of the film I did believe are good. I liked how the film makers depicted the underlying ugliness of some animal theme parks - the small enclosures for the animals, the small amount of food that the animals are fed (I am not surprised by the mosasaur eating the I. Rex - if I am fed a steady diet of dead great white sharks, I would be hungry for something more satisfying), and the disrespect and over-confidence that some of the staff have for their animals.
I did like as well the explanation given for the appearance of the animals.
I did like as well that, for however briefly, that the issue of how I. Rex was raised was addressed. It is not outside reality for an animal to kill for no reason - there have been incidents of animals doing this. I would have written the film with two of the dinosaurs of the same species turning for unknown reasons into killing humans and other dinosaurs.
There have been better written and directed films this summer. Mad Max: Fury Road falls into that category.
There were instances where I was puzzled. So, Marsani has a talk with Wu. He learns that he signed off the I. Rex and that the project is largely classified, even to him. Huh? He is the top officer of his corporation - a corporation that, according to the faux website for it, was founded by him. There is nothing that is unknown for him. For such a successful person, a person who is the eighth richest person in the world, I never believed for once that the character that I see in the film is the same as described in the dialog nor in the faux websites. So, what comes of this conversation? Nothing. Marsani never pushes back for full disclosure of what created the dinosaur nor calls a conference to discuss what was done to create this dinosaur with his top officers at the park. I would have written Marsani as a corporate founder and entrepenaur would be. I am thinking of how Carnegie dealt with the striking miners in 1892.
Then there is Marsani taking the helicopter for the assault. What happened to his trainer? The last time I saw him he is sick for no explicable reason. Marsani is the PIC and the PF - why isn't the Vietnam vet the PIC and the PF? why is he the PNF? (PIC - Pilot in Charge; PF - Pilot Flying; PNF - Pilot Not Flying - actual terms used in aviation) I would not have written Marsani as the pilot - I would have written him as leading from the control room. And, I would have written the capture or killing of the creature as being something intelligent - maybe a corraling of the creature.
As the valley was being evacuated, there is a scene that has a first act, a second act, and no third act. The operator is seen being called to inform the visitors that the park is being closed. He informs the visitors, who respond by kvetching and ignoring the operator. How is this scene resolved, who convinces the visitors to return to the resort? It is left hanging.
Then, there is the matter of the visitors themselves. There are 22,216 or so of these individuals. Why aren't they moved to their hotels, so they are not exposed to heat exhaustion (there are scenes of the visitors suffering in the heat), and they are safe from the dinosaurs? I saw a hotel room, when Zara introduces the kids to their room. It is located across a body of water from the mall. This is a safe location. (And, it wouldn't require a mass evacuation of the island.) It would have been nice to have a scene of a mock drill on a normal day, or at least a mention of such an event. Like the trainer, the hotels mysteriosly disappeared. In my version, i would have written that the visitors are moved to the hotels for safety. Some of the visitors returning to the hotels would have been detoured from their course as the incident unfolds. If I was to follow the film, I would have shown the flying dinosaurs flying past the hotels and the visitors watching the spectacle in stunned atonishment. There would have been no aerial blitzkrieg.
Then, there is the continuity. They screwed up the location of the visitor's center from the first film. It would be located where the mall is located in the fourth film; it isn't located in the north side of the island, in the restricted area of the island. The kids would never have discovered the visitor's center, for it would have been demolished to make way for the mall. (This is based on the maps seen in the first and fourth films.)
I don't believe for one second the military would have accepted the Velociraptors and other dinosaur as successors to drones and dogs. I read about the history of the military dog program in World War II. People who were proponents of dogs being used in war had to convince the brass for two years that this was a legitimate idea. Then, the animals were treated to a battery of mental and physical tests before they were accepted into the training program. The testers were looking for animals who were loyal, obedient, intelligent, and motivated. Many of these animals came from the homes of families who donated their pets to the war effort. The raptors would have failed the tests. The military was careful about which animals were used - they used bats, pigeons, and dogs. Bats and pigeons were tested for the possibility of using them as mobile bomb carriers. Bats would have carried incidenary bombs into Japanese cities and towns, and pigeons would have carried explosives into ships. InGen and Marsani have created animals that far too docile (as demonstrated as easily the I. Rex managed to decimate five or six of the sauropods) or far too hostile.
And, honestly, I don't believe that Middle East militia would be frightened by dinosaurs. Some of these militia fighters are loco - they drive mobile improvised explosive devices into the front lines of enemy troops. Initially, they would be frightened by these animals - then, they would recover from their shock, and would decimate the animals. Or, in the worst case scenario, capture the animals and use them against their enemies. Or, in another worst case scenario, the animals would have turned against their handlers. This happened in the Eastern Front during World War II, with the anti-tank dogs. The dogs were trained for delivering explosives to German tanks. It failed for multiple reasons.
I know that I have been ripping the film apart. There are some parts of the film I did believe are good. I liked how the film makers depicted the underlying ugliness of some animal theme parks - the small enclosures for the animals, the small amount of food that the animals are fed (I am not surprised by the mosasaur eating the I. Rex - if I am fed a steady diet of dead great white sharks, I would be hungry for something more satisfying), and the disrespect and over-confidence that some of the staff have for their animals.
I did like as well the explanation given for the appearance of the animals.
I did like as well that, for however briefly, that the issue of how I. Rex was raised was addressed. It is not outside reality for an animal to kill for no reason - there have been incidents of animals doing this. I would have written the film with two of the dinosaurs of the same species turning for unknown reasons into killing humans and other dinosaurs.
There have been better written and directed films this summer. Mad Max: Fury Road falls into that category.
Jurassic World stomps Friday box office with a roaring $82.8 million!!
http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/12/media/jurassic-world-first-day/index.html?iid=Lead
http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/12/media/jurassic-world-first-day/index.html?iid=Lead
It had so many product placements that I wouldn't be surprised if it made a profit before a single ticket was sold.
That's very possible. It still does not take away from how many people are going to see it. Clearly, the movie is very popular.
So how would you rate this movie?
The parents were going to sign the divorce papers while their kids were away, without the kids knowing (they thought). Auntie Bryce works at the biggest tourist destination on the planet and can get the kids in for free. The younger kid loves science and dinosaurs. At that point, no dinosaurs have eaten any tourists. Seems a no-brainer.
No CEO knows every detail of everything that goes on in their company. Nobody bores the boss with the details unless he asks for it. In this case, I get the feeling Wu and Hoskins were perhaps in secret talks with government/military forces of some kind (hence why Hoskins was chomping at the bit to try out the trained raptors) and Marsani was left in the dark. And Marsani had an immediate crisis in his park to attend to. The conference would have come later, had he lived.
You don't tell the boss no (as Wu just did and as the trainer may have). He wanted to be John Hammond II, and Hammond wasn't one to hide in a control room.
Once it becomes clear the ride is not opening back up, the visitors would have either gone back by themselves or (more likely) been ordered back by the security officers the operator would have called as a last resort.
That probably would've been the Phase III evacuation (they were only up to Phase II, I think). We didn't see where the guests were at night.
Speaking as someone who works at Walt Disney World, I can tell you from experience that once their money's plunked down, NO guest will be willing to just leave the park mid-day and return to their hotel unless they absolutely must. They want their money's worth, and they'll get it come hell or high water. I've seen guests willingly sit at the side of a street for nearly two hours in no-shade, no-clouds 100+ degree weather just to have a prime viewing spot for the afternoon parade. The only way to get them to go would be to panic them, which wasn't going to happen. InGen was obviously trying to keep as much of the park open as possible despite the emergency (hence the kids still riding the baby triceratops) and were keeping guests (and, probably, the other park employees) in the dark as to the nature of the problem. No one expected the sudden mass aviary breakout.
Depends which military wanted it. Maybe someone who wasn't very picky about collateral damage.
Anyone who isn't scared of dinosaurs, no matter how well trained, is in need of psychological counseling. And as we saw, they weren't given a chance to recover from the shock before I.Rex and the Raptor Crew dropped the blitzkrieg.
Sgt. Pepper
Lieutenant Commander
That doesn't surprise me, one theater near me was sold out and the one I went to was full.
The New York Times' review ended with "Rated PG-13 for product placement."
This is definitely the best JP movie since the original. Yes, the "save the children from dinosaurs" plot has been overused, but overall I felt the cinematography (special effects, sounds) was well done. It doesn't purport to be anything other than a popcorn flick, and Chris Pratt's character was likeable and charismatic. No wonder the raptors love him!
I read somewhere, that the product placement isn't really product placement but a satirical dig at the practice and the firms used in the film didn't actually pay for it, which may explain the Samsung phones not being the latest generation of them. Of course, the Mercs used were probably supplied by the car company.
Sgt. Pepper
Lieutenant Commander
I was just going to discuss Chris Pratt's character. First off, he's come a long way from Parks and Rec. Before GotG, I would have never taken him that seriously as an actor, but now I really like him as an actor. He comes across as sincere and obviously very funny. He's got the Everyman thing going on and honestly, in this movie, the only character I really cared about. He pretty much stole the show. He seemed to be the only one other than the black guy who cared about the Dino's as actual animals. I was once again impressed with his performance. I wouldn't mind a sequel, but I hope Chris Pratt doesn't fall into the trap of being cast for every action movie. If there is a sequel, I would like to see Jeff Goldbloom again though it makes sense that the old characters would want nothing to do with the park.
Sgt. Pepper
Lieutenant Commander
Watching the movie, I assumed that the product placement was meant to be a dig at actual theme parks and sports stadiums.
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