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I’ve now seen Jurassic World three times, and have enjoyed it every time. It’s a fun thrill ride of a film, and now is the film with the second highest grossing weekend at the box office of all time! While I really enjoyed the film and think it’s a great addition to the franchise, there are some thoughts and questions that have been keeping me up at night that I had along the way while watching it. I thought that maybe I’d highlight a few of them here.
1.) The opening is awesome and a nice homage to Alien I feel… but I really would have liked a flashback for the opening instead I think. All of the JP films have great prologues and I feel like it would have been cool to see some of the post-1993 incident clean up or even the recapture of the rex or something.
2.) The bird in snow shot is wonderful, and is actually the only reference we get to the dino-bird relationship in the whole film.
3.) Okay, JW is open and it looks spectacular- everything I would want and expect in a Jurassic Park. But why? I mean, I know why because I followed the online marketing but it’s not actually explained in depth in the film past John Hammond willing JP to Masrani. Last time we saw Hammond he had gone from “capitalist to naturalist” and was more concerned about protecting the animals. Now he thinks the park is a good idea again? Also… after all the incidents and deaths of the three previous films combined, how did they actually convince anybody that this would be a good idea again?
4.) The I. rex introduction is amazingly perfect.
5.) The innovation center is breathtaking. It’s like the Discovery Center at Islands of Adventure on digital roids.
6.) I actually don’t mind the raptor training at all… but why breed them in the first place. Even if they are for this military experiment who thought it was a good idea to take the most dangerous, human hating animals created at JP? The animals that are responsible for the most deaths in the series, and try and train them. Did anybody think that maybe, for once, you shouldn’t breed raptors?
7.) Why is the rex CGI? Also, I wish I could have seen more Jurassic World carnivores in captivity other than the rex (albeit briefly,) and raptors.
8.) I feel like it’s now a statistic for kids of divorcees to end up on Isla Nublar or Isla Sorna. That should be in an ad: “Our park is sure to make your kids forget about your separation, because they’ll be too busy running from dinosaurs!”
9.) Speaking of Sorna… what the hell happened to it? They are acting, once again, like Nublar is the factory floor (like they did in the original film.) Is there nothing going on on Sorna? Or is it just so overrun by dinosaurs that they were like “screw it, we only need the one island” ?
10.) Zach is probably a bigger dick than any other human villain in the JP series.
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11.) Mosa is awesome. Period.
12.) We really haven’t seen all of I. rex yet so when her actual reveal happens I really would have wished they did more of the JP rex full reveal and roar from the first film rather than I.rex suddenly blocking Owen’s escape and we only see half of her. It’s like they can’t decide if they want to show us I. rex or not.
13.) Why not have a access door at… both side of the paddock for people?
14.) The moment where I. rex searching for grady is super suspenseful and well done. Plus the I. rex looks beautiful.
15.) Petting zoo is cute and the riding of the baby trike is a nice reference to a cut scene from the first film and the novel.
16.) I’s so glad Wu is back. All of his scenes in this film are gold- mainly because it follows his character from the novel to a T.
17.) I’m already kind of “done” with the amount of comedy in the film. It’s just a personal thing, although I realize that they need to offset the amount of violence in the film. But does every film have to be so “funny” now? Age of Ultron had the same issues. I get some of it, but a lot is unneeded and out of character for some. It makes me really happy they cut the poop scene with Claire later.
18.) The moment when Claire walks in to control and everyone is quiet is awesome. Wish there were more moments like that in the film. It’s really effective.
19.) The I. rex coming out of hiding via camo is one of the most amazing things I have seen in the JP series, and something I’ve been waiting for since Crichton’s The Lost World. Also, the moment it takes out the ACU unit is a great nod to Aliens.
20.) Also, love the blood on the wrist. “Which way is the drop going to roll off?”
21.) Yay! Fallon mention’s dilophosaurs! So… wait, they’re in Jurassic World? Why haven’t we seen them yet!?
22.) The gyrosphere ride is awesome, and leads to a great “It’s a dinosaur” scene.
23.) Why are the stegos nearly dragging their tails here but weren’t earlier on when they were at the river?
24.) I’m going to assumed I. rex broke the gate open that the boys enter the restricted zone through… but if so, why is the I. rex still in the jungle and not rampaging through the valley yet towards the park?
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25.) The I. rex looking at the boys ala JP rex style should have been a practical effect…
26.) Dying apatosaur scene is a near tearjerker. It’s seriously right up there with the sick trike from JP.
27.) Old park scene(s) = BEST moments in the whole film. Just wish we could have stayed there longer. How did the boys end up here anyway? Also… why is the norther side of the island “restricted” if it seems like any ol’ JW employee can trounce around there at any time? Are there supposed to be wild dinosaurs around? What haven’t we seen any? And if so is that what killed the JW worker whose helmet Gray finds, or was that supposed to be I. rex again?
28.) AH! Pterosaur beak killing ACU. GREAT reference to he cut final sequence of The Lost World.
29.) Masrani dies and it’s sad… but still would have liked to had more time to get to know him. It’s not as sad as if, say, Hammond was to have died in the first film. Also… the trailers totally ruined it.
20.)Why do the pteros look so different… again?
21.) Jesus, what are these pteros MADE OF!?
22.) I can deal with almost everything these pteros can do except for it lifting a baby trike off the ground. Cool shot but… no.
23.) The pteros diving through the water is actually probably one of the coolest things they do in the film.
24.) Zara’s death is OVERKILL. Man, I mean she wasn’t a horrible person. Also the mosa’s appearance seems kind of the same as the one we’ve gotten before.
25.) Why are Owen and Claire kissing? Pteros… still flapping around everywhere. Not really the time or place.
26.) You’re going to tell me they tranquilized all the pterosaurs? All of them?
27.) It gets dark fast in Jurassic World.
28.) Really wanted Claire to either punch Hoskins instead or after Owen.
29.) Raptors turning on humans is probably one of the best moments in the whole film. It’s scary and is a really great mixture of the tall grass scene and Muldoon’s death. Also a little bit of Aliens thrown in again.
30.) YEAH, ROCKET LAUNCHER! Just like the novel. Man, I’m loving all these small nods to Crichton’s work.
31.) Okay, so Wu is cool using dinos for military. He wants to innovate because God complex. I get it. But damn it, now we’re going to be wondering what happens with those embryos now.
32.) Still… no BioSyn.
33.) Really Hoskins wasn’t a bad guy, he just makes some seriously bad judgement calls and is a dick. His intentions are good though. … … Still loved his death though.
34.) You know… we never do find out everything that is in I. Rex.
35.) YAY! DILOPHOSAURUS!!!
36.) Blue siding with Owen all of a sudden reminds me of Hiccup and Toothless…
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37.) Rexy emerging from the darkness is AWESOME AS HELL.
38.) Epic final fight is epic. Although they missed a chance to have it in the rain.
39.) Pretty sure Colin Trevorrow, when shooting the last scene, had a Spielberg JP moment and said “I think the star of this movie is the mosasaur” then threw it in as the one being heroic and killing I. rex. Because… let’s be honest. Rexy and Blue were gonna have their hides handed to them.
40.) Okay, totally get animals teaming up to take out a common threat- okay. But I really REALLY think the rex should have roared/chased Blue away instead of having that “good job bro” look at each other. I mean, at one point Blue uses Rexy as a springboard to pounce on the I. rex. That means her claws dug into Rexy’s back… I’d be pissed. Those claws are sharp- as the scars on Rexy’s neck can attest to. Her chasing Blue away would have saved us that Owen nod to Blue as well…
41.) Also unless you saw the scars and put two and two together and/or followed the marketing for the film you would totally not realize that this was the same rex from the first film. There should have been a scene explaining it or showing her recapture. Also, wish more of her was practical effects instead of CG.
42.) I really don’t like the love story. At least I don’t like a lot of the moments that involve it. I would have much rather Owen and Claire looked at each other like Ellie and Alan do in the end of JP that the whole “for survival” bit.
43.) Yeah, I see some straggling pteranodons. Who’s gonna keep them from getting off the island? Also… once again, unless you follow the marketing for the film you wouldn’t know what happened to the pteros at the end of JP3.
44.) Epic emotional final shot is epic and really emotional.
The park is open! Run, to go see Jurassic World in cinemas now!
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Many Strange Things 