BIASES: mid 20s black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

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JURASSIC PARK 3

 

MOVIE BIASES: Didn't like the second one, but I'm always up for action.
MAJOR PLAYERS: Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Téa Leoni (Deep Impact), William H. Macy (State and Main), Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off), and director Joe Johnston (Jumanji).

Dinosaurs will always be cool, no matter how old you are. There's something fascinating about a creature we missed by tens of millions of years that could have really put man in his place. Despite this fascination with dinosaurs, "Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World" lost me. I was hardly geeked up for this third installment, traditionally the weakest, most watered down movie in a franchise. So believe me when I say this to you: JP3 simply brings it.

As usual, Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) is surly and cash strapped, with his paleontology dig set to run out of money in three weeks. When Paul and Amanda Kirby (Macy and Leoni) tempt he and his assistant Billy (Nivola) with funding the dig further for any amount he wants in exchange to be their aerial guide over dinosaur-infested Isla Sorna, Grant jumps at the chance. Of course, the Kirbys have their own secret agenda and land the plane on the island, against the express wishes of Dr. Grant. The dinosaurs come out to play - and they are REALLY pissed this time. People flee. Mayhem ensues. The race is on to get to the coast, signal for help, and get off the island - alive.

Acting? Acting? We don't need no stinking acting! To hear the actors tell it, it's harder to act against green screen and invisible dinosaurs that ILM fills in later. If that is truly the case then these guys do a great job. But it's a one-dimensional job, as they flit from set piece to set piece, reacting mostly to the incredibly menacing dinosaurs. What little character investment there is pretty much works - Sam Neill's cranky paleontologist, Nivola's young and foolhardy assistant, and Trevor Morgan as young, resourceful Eric Kirby. While Macy is uniformly great and I respect the decent, if unextraordinary career the perpetually third billed Téa Leoni has maintained, their interaction as a divorced couple coming together for a single cause is a little obvious and forced.

But who the hell cares? It's all about the action. When I say JP3 brings it, this movie really brings it. The dinosaurs never looked more lifelike than they do this time around, with the surprise attacks and evolutionary intelligence they've acquired now even more frightening. Laugh if you want to but I literally jumped back in my seat no less than five times during the movie. Joe Johnston keeps things moving once they reach the island, playing with our anticipations and hyper-aware, modern sensibilities. He ably captures the power of these beasts and the fear in which they cause us poor humans. I am surprised, however, that the graphic nature of the dino-dinners squeaked by with a PG-13, as this movie features carnivores at their best. The dinosaurs truly are the stars of this movie, as they should be. Backed by a frenetic score as well, JP3 reminds us why dinosaurs will always be cool.

@@@ REELS
(THREE REELS)
It's pretty hot - go give it a shot.

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