Jurassic Park movies

[VideoGameCritic]

Okay so now I'm on a Jurassic Park kick. Just watched first three movies over the last three nights. I consider these great summer films.

The first one is the best by far. The kids can be annoying but otherwise it's remarkably entertaining from start to end. I especially enjoy the "ride" part that explains how the park works. I kind of wish there were more scenes like that.

The Lost World was such a dark, and sometimes downright depressing movie. It had some exciting parts but the T-Rex rampage in San Diego at the end fell a little flat.

Jurassic Park III was a strange one. I hardly even remember hearing about it when it was released in 2001. I'm wondering it maybe it got the "Last Jedi" treatment, in that people got turned off by the second movie. Anyway this one has some unlikeable people in it but there are some good parts. I was a little disappointed by the special effects. I can name both practical effects (Spinosaurus in the plane crash) and computer effects (Brachiosaurus on the boat ride) that looked fake to me.

I really like Jurassic World even though it pales to the original, and I think Fallen Kingdom was underrated. That was a very original film with a whole different vibe. The third Jurassic World movie (Dominion) comes out next year.

[Voor]

I’ve watched them also lately on SyFy. I think Lost world would hold up much better without the whole “Dino come to the city” section and that dreaded gymnastics routine. It has some genuinely suspenseful scenes.

Part III’s story is so out there, it loses some credibility for me, but it does have some entertainment value there.

One thing. I’ve always felt that the effects hold up really well BUT I watched them this time on a TV with the refresh rate too high, and man, did it look terrible.

What’s your opinion on the reboots? I was pretty surprised how closely the follow the structure of the originals.

[TheEagleXIII]

So weird you mention this - I was only this morning just checking out your page for Jurassic Park games cos it popped up in the seasonal section. Guess that explains your recent movie binge

I still haven't checked out the new ones. I've been trying to convince my wife for ages to give the original a watch cos she's never seen it. So once I manage to crack that nut that'll hopefully open the door for the recent ones.

Jurassic Park is one of those movie franchises I totally see going hand-in-hand with video games too, especially 90s. So many different version of the games, even in the same console generation. That logo is just pure 90s nostalgia both as a movie and game franchise - probably cos it was plastered as an ad in every copy of Sonic the Comic back then - along with the Mortal Kombat and gold/black Batman logos.

I haven't watched 2 and 3 for ages, so it'd be interesting to see how they hold up.

[VideoGameCritic]

I enjoy the Jurassic World movies. I think the first one captures some of the spirit of the original, with the whole amusement-park-out-of-control vibe. The second one definitely had a darker vibe but I like it a lot.

Neither can touch the original Jurassic Park movie, but they are better than Lost World and 3.

[MSR1701]

I recently rewatched the first movie after so many years, and it is amazing how well it holds up, both in presentation and as a classic movie.

Of note, right after watching the movie I obtained a copy of the novel and gave it a read. It is really impressive that they kept so many elements and while they did simplify a few things for the sake of cinema, both are an interesting time.

Of note, if you thought the kids were annoying in the original JP movie, they are severely toned down from the original novel (the boy was slightly older, the girl was a bit younger than their movie counterparts). There were many, MANY times I half expected Lex to be dino chow from her attitude.

[VideoGameCritic]

Watched Jurassic World last night and while it's pretty enjoyable, I wish they would have focused a little more on the attractions.

Also, the ending was really out there. Not only was it ludicrous, but the battle was actually kind of hard to follow. I think they went overboard (literally).

[velcrozombie]

I remember seeing the original in the theater. I'd read the novel the summer before after a teacher lent it to me (I wanted to be a paleontologist up until I was 8 or so) and I was disappointed as a young kid who wanted every last detail to be up onscreen - this was before I had any understanding of how storytelling worked or of the compromises that you had to make to bring a book to life in another medium. Seeing the film now it's a technical masterpiece and one of the best popcorn movies ever. Somehow I never bothered with any of the sequels and I'm not sure I even care enough to watch them at this point - I was a Marvel fan but now that the Thanos storyline has finished I feel burnt out on the big effects-driven action films of recent years (although I'm hoping for at least one more Mad Max film before George Miller kicks the bucket).

It's going to be interesting to see how commercially viable films like the Jurassic Park/World series will be going forward if movie theater chains are no longer sustainable. It's become more common for people to have a big-screen TVs/projectors and surround sound at home, but will there be enough of an audience willing to pay a premium price to support big-budget films that would have previously made the majority of their profits at the theater?

[MSR1701]

I will say I'm glad I read the book, some of the details in the Sega Genesis game now make sense (the raft being a BIG one I never got...).

[VideoGameCritic]

I will say I'm glad I read the book, some of the details in the Sega Genesis game now make sense (the raft being a BIG one I never got...).

This is interesting, because it indicates the game was being made a long time before the film was complete. I guess that's the chance you take...

[Cafeman]

JP > TLW > JP3. And JW = JW2 but not sure how they compare to the OT 3. My rankings.

Anyway, JP is the best film (of course) and still holds up well for me. It was phenomenal when it released summer '93. I had already read the book, didn't mind that the film went its own way. I wonder where I stuffed the book? Can't find it.

TLW, it is very much a Spielberg film with the types of scenes you watch. Its also too long, overall less interesting characters and dialogue, and has the dumb raptor gymnastics part which kills any suspense at that point, but I've come to accept it as-is and I like the film. There are a lot of good scenes and the practical FX blend masterfully with the CGI. I like the T-rex on the mainland part - very entertaining to me. Goldblum is entertaining.

JP3 , now I like this film despite the TV-episode caliber / bad family characters. Alan Grant is hilarious in this film. Just watch Sam Neill's acting and listen to what he says ... it is very humorous. "I like the abacas, Billy...". Or "what about Cooper??". Perhaps unintentionally but I doubt it. Same director (Joe Johnston) as Captain America: First Avenger and The Rocketeer!

I actually like watching my DVD's of the original 3. Grittier appearance but still decent.