As a kid, I always loved dinosaurs. So obviously, I turned to films such as the
Jurassic Park trilogy to quench my thirst for big-screen dinos. I always loved the first and third films the most, but never was a huge fan of the second. As a matter of fact, I loved the third film (which is commonly considered the worst of the trilogy) even more than the highly-praised original film when I was younger. Recently, I had the chance to view the third film for the first time in a couple years, and to say that I don't like it as much as I used to isn't a lie.
Jurassic Park III centers on a recently divorced couple (William Macy, Tea Leoni) trying to find their lost son, Eric (Trevor Morgan), on the island Isla Sorna, which is infested with dinosaurs of every kind. They hire Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), who previously visited Isla Nublar in the first
Jurassic Park film, to accompany them in their search for Eric. While on the island, however, dinosaurs of all sorts (the carnivorous dinos, of course!) attack, and the group are in a live-or-be-eaten situation.
As expected, the effects in
JP3 are the best of the trilogy. While still using animatronics, they also mix in some CGI. The dinosaurs look better, cooler, and more dangerous than ever. The inclusion of the Spinosaurous was an excellent decision, giving us a break from the first two films' having the T-Rex as the antagonist (even having the first big fight scene end with Spino killing T-Rex, and I wish this fight lasted much longer). The Spino's been one of my favorite dinosaurs for a long time (if not the most), and I love the way they portrayed the beast in this film. The film also plays up the roles of the Raptors, and as dangerous as those things are, you can't help but love 'em.
The acting is rather solid, as with the first two films. Sam Neill is great again as Alan Grant, and having his character in the movie kills any doubt that it's a continuation of the prior films (as well as some small easter eggs recognizing the events of
The Lost World), as the film almost entirely concentrates on new characters. William Macy's good as Paul Kirby, while Tea Leoni is decent (but a bit too loud) as Amanda Kirby. Trevor Morgan's pretty good as Eric, and the rest of the supporting cast is solid enough.
I know I've said mostly positive things about a commonly hated-on film, but now I'll get into the negatives. First off, the overall feel of the movie is noticeably different from the prior movies (it may be because of the director switch from Spielberg to Joe Johnston), and if it wasn't for the aforementioned indications recognizing events from the prior films, some people may assume it's of a different
Jurassic Park series altogether. While this isn't a major flaw, it would've been nice to feel a little more like Spielberg's films. Also, I would've loved to see John Williams return to compose this film (although the soundtrack's decent enough IMO). Another flaw is the mostly unoriginal story. While it isn't as rehashed as it could be, the basic storyline (trying to find a lost one in a dangerous environment) could've been a little more original. As a matter of fact, the entire film almost seems like a rehash of the first two films, as they all seem to follow a very similar storyline (dinosaurs escape, dinosaurs chase/hunt humans, humans fight back, humans escape, etc.). Finally, I would've liked to see dinosaurs featured in a few more scenes, but the story itself allows enough character development for most people to breathe.
In the end, I don't think
Jurassic Park III is near as bad as many make it out to be. It may be pretty unoriginal, has some hit-and-miss acting, and an overall very different tone from the previous films, but it was fun enough for me to enjoy it. I think of the
Jurassic Park sequels as mostly mindless entertainment (similar to the
Transformers trilogy or even
G.I. Joe), but perhaps a little more originality would make this film as good as the first film (but it's still much better than
The Lost World).
I rate
Jurassic Park III 4 out of 5 stars.