Twenty-two years after it was conclusively proven that the idea of a dinosaur park was a bad one, the same company that eventually built the thing by taming the dinosaurs decides that the dinosaurs are too, well, tame. Attendances are dropping and people are bored with the T-Rex. They want something bigger, scarier, more expensive (gee – just like summer blockbuster monster movies, how groan-worthy self-conscious). So they build one and, of course, it escapes and, well, you can pretty much guess the rest.
Actually, if you can avert your eyes from the obvious product placements, Jurassic World does look and sound the part, in as much as it’s possible to imagine that if a dinosaur park was built this is what it would be like to be there.
Meanwhile Chris Pratt reinforces his ability to be a leading man while acting in front of a green screen (Her, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Bryce Dallas Howard proves that you can run away from dinosaurs in high heels, not that that’s ever likely to be a selling point for shoes.
It would be great if reboots/sequels started delivering something new rather than self-reverential homages and more of the same only louder. But as long as there’s a buck in it that’s never going to happen. Winning formulas are a hard habit to break.
At worst, Jurassic World is impressively diverting. But ultimately it’s an unexceptional couple of hours at the cinema. Whether that’s a problem is just a question of perspective.
Rating: Three sequels (so far)
