Jurassic World (2015) is directed by Colin Trevorrow, who also wrote the script alongside Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Derek Connolly. It stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Vincent D’Onofrio, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Judy Greer, Omar Sy, Lauren Lapkus, BD Wong, Katie McGrath, Brian Tee, Eric Edelstein, and Andy Buckley. Twenty-two years after the tragedy at the original Jurassic Park, a new theme park, known as “Jurassic World,” is born. To continuously surprise their guests, the park’s scientists are encouraged to breed genetically engineered species, including their newest and most dangerous creation, the Indominus Rex. Far more intelligent than they could have possibly predicted, the Indominus escapes from its cage and begins to wreak violent havoc throughout the park. As the situation spirals further out of control, the park’s operations manager, Claire (Howard), is forced to enlist the aid of Velociraptor expert and her former romantic fling, Owen Grady (Pratt). Together, the two are forced to overcome their differences to contain the dinosaur threat, but also locate and save Claire’s estranged nephews (Robinson, Simpkins), who are trapped amidst the chaos.

Although the dialogue between them occasionally devolves into frivolous silliness, the characters feel like unique and welcome additions to the franchise. A lot of them have similar jobs to previous characters, but their core personalities are distinct. Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady is the protagonist I’ve always wanted from the franchise. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t necessarily prefer him over Alan Grant or Ian Malcom, but he is refreshingly skilled in his ability to fight back against the dinosaurs. Having a capable protagonist such as this undermines the horror elements, but it’s clear that the film is attempting to take a more action-centric approach to the franchise. 

Bryce Dallas Howard brings a lot of energy to the film and once again proves herself to be an underrated performer who consistently displays impressive range. Unfortunately, Claire is a frustrating character for the majority of the film. She takes far too long to accept obvious realities and constantly presents an aura of delusional superiority. Thankfully, the script finds some humor at the expense of this behavior, but it doesn’t help to make her any less grating. She does change by the end, but it only works as a setup for the sequel, rather than retroactively softening our opinion of the character. 

The script nails the brotherly dynamic between Zach (Robinson) and Gray (Simpkins), subtly yet insightfully portraying two humans with conflicting personalities who are forced to endure one another’s presence consistently. At the same time, it emotionally displays the unspoken, loving bond between them. The beauty of sibling relationships, even more so than marriage, is that they demonstrate how strong connections can be built through differences as much as similarities. 

I also appreciated that, similar to The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), the film features a memorable human villain who doesn’t undermine the dinosaurs as the central threat. As Vic, D’Onofrio chews the scenery as expected, equipping a thick southern drawl and menacing smile that make him uncommonly compelling to watch. Yes, we’ve seen the character’s motivations previously in the franchise, but not from such a small, cog in the machine position. He’s almost slimier than previous human villains, because at least their actions had an element of ambition, believing they were working toward a greater good. Vic just wants money, and he knows it. Something about that is refreshingly honest, and therefore more reprehensible.

 The film is hugely satisfying for franchise fans in that it finally presents a fully operational and packed version of the park. This helps to recreate a certain magic that even Spielberg couldn’t fully deliver with The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The natural continuation of the franchise’s “man manipulating nature” theme pushes the film further into sci-fi than any previous installment. Most of the time, it feels like an appropriate escalation, but there are certain key moments that go a bit too far. These push the series into cartoonish, comic book-esque territory, sacrificing the mostly grounded take that made even the weakest of the previous installments so irresistible. Whether it’s the brighter, cartoonishly colorful visuals, Owen’s ability to train raptors like a pack of dogs, or the idea that a militarized raptor would ever be more effective or less expensive than a modern drone, the movie seems to treat realism as an afterthought. I’m not saying the first three were remarkably realistic, but they at least felt grounded. This absurdity comes to a head in the climax, which features dinosaurs inexplicably behaving like humans, displaying seemingly personal beefs and complex motivations that are either inconsistent with their established intelligence or just completely random and convenient. 

The romance between Owen and Claire is also a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s refreshingly old-fashioned in its gender dynamic, but self-aware enough that it never feels sexist by modern standards. On the other hand, the script appears to target Claire unevenly, which creates some decent comedy but ultimately makes the character less likable. A lot of modern films prop up their female characters at the expense of their male counterparts. This movie does the opposite, which is more uncommon, but still creates the same issues. Writers need to understand that the best forms of gender empowerment focus on what makes each gender special, rather than what makes the other inferior. 

Overall, this is a satisfying continuation of the Jurassic Park (now Jurassic World) franchise that pushes the series in a new, stylized direction. This new approach sacrifices many elements that make the first three films so much fun, but still retains the franchise’s core appeal: dinosaur mayhem. It’s often a fast-paced, mindlessly entertaining adventure experience, but it overlooks aspects such as tension-building and the creation of palpable, life-or-death stakes. Whereas the first three felt like they took place in reality, this feels like its own fantasy world—much less immersive and a lot goofier. That being said, it works well if that’s something the individual desires to see. I prefer my Jurassic films to be more grounded and serious, but this is still a lot better than I was expecting. It’s a pure blockbuster, for better or worse, but it’s a fun one. B