|
|
|
| HOME | REVIEWS & RATINGS | BEST & WORST | FAQ | CONTACT | LINKS | FUN STUFF | POSTERS | DVDs |
| "Survey says...." Click here! And put in your two cents worth! |
I know this is going to sound cheesy, but I just have to do it: This is THE edge-of-your-seat thrill ride movie of the summer. There, I said it. Of course, summer isn't over, so there's a chance that some movies will surpass it (possibly Planet of the Apes if Tim Burton lives up to the hype), but so far my money is on JP3. I wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing JP3, mainly because I had been somewhat disappointed with the second installment of the series and because it wasn't directed by Steven Spielberg (yes, I do appreciate him despite the fact that I disliked A.I. Artificial Intelligence). But director Joe Johnston, who made his way from visual effects artist to director by working with both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, has proved once again that he can play with the big boys. His previous movies had earned either some commercial success (Jumanji, The Rocketeer) or critical praise (October Sky), but never both. This time, I believe he has pulled it off. In Jurassic Park III, we rejoin Dr. Alan Grant (Neill), who – despite his previous experience with live dinosaurs – remains determined to study them, but in the old-fashioned way: paleontology. Desperate to raise funds for his research about velociraptor intelligence, Grant accepts to act as a guide on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna for the wealthy Kirbys (Macy and Leoni). Of course, things don't go as planned for Grant (I'm not revealing any secrets here) and he'll have to run from the dinosaurs once again. What did you expect, a 95-minute plane ride?
The big difference between JP3 and the previous two installments is that it has a much faster pace. Johnston doesn't "waste" any time to get to the good stuff. As soon as the movie starts, you're plunged into the action and it's almost non-stop until the end. I say "almost" because Johnston does take some time to properly introduce the characters. However, little time is spent on "landscape" and "special effects" shots. The pace of the movie is also different for another reason: while both Jurassic Park and The Lost World were in the 125-130 minute range, Jurassic Park III is only 95 minutes long, but that only serves to heighten the "action-per-minute" level. The action sequences are not the only reasons why you should spend your hard-earned money to see this movie. It also features an interesting array of actors and it's closer to the spirit of the two Michael Crichton books than Lost World was. This is sort of puzzling, since Crichton had no hand in JP3 (he only gets a "based on characters by" credit). Therefore, I praise Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, the writing duo behind the critically acclaimed Citizen Ruth and Election, who joined forces with newcomer Peter Buchman to write a screenplay with a proper balance of action, drama, suspense and comedy. Several elements from the books that were previously missing have now found a home, such as the raptors' extreme intelligence and the pteranodons cage.
Obviously, the movie isn't perfect. My biggest criticism is a technical one: why are there NEW types of dinosaurs in JP3 as opposed to JP2? It was acceptable to have new dinosaurs appear in JP2, since the action took place on Isla Sorna (home of "site b"), as opposed to Isla Nublar. But since both JP2 and JP3 take place at the same location, shouldn't they feature the same animals? As a matter of fact, the filmmakers even went as far as modifying the EXISTING dinosaurs that we were used to. Most of them now feature a new skin that has more camouflage (this is especially true for the velociraptors). While it's possible that some parts of the island wouldn't have been explored in JP2, some species are just too big to miss. Let's file this mystery in the "Let us showcase our talent" file.
Another thing that's a bit frustrating is that we don't get to "admire" the dinosaurs – although this ties in to the pace of the movie – and when we do see them, things move around very fast. However, the photography of some of those scenes is simply astonishing. We no longer witness the dinosaur attacks from a "conventional" point of view, but rather from a camera that moves rapidly in any direction, which translates into increased suspense for those scenes. Casting director Nancy Foy did a wonderful job with her selection. Gone are the actors from JP2, but back are Sam Neill (The Dish, The Hunt for Red October, The Piano) and Laura Dern (October Sky, Citizen Ruth, Wild at Heart), although Dern plays such a small role that it could almost qualify as a cameo (according to production notes from Universal Pictures, it's a "special appearance"). By the way, the Dr. Alan Grant character is beginning to resemble more and more like Indiana Jones, which makes me wonder if Spielberg is looking for even more spin-offs from the Jurassic Park franchise.
The most notable addition to the cast is William H. Macy (Fargo, Magnolia, Pleasantville), whose work on the ER television series exposed him for the great actor that he is and helped him land his infamous role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. In JP3, Macy shows a wide range of emotions, as his character must act both as a concerned parent and as knight in shining armour for his ex-wife. I was also pleased to see Téa Leoni (Flirting with Disaster, A League of Their Own, Deep Impact), although I find that she's more effective in independent movies. I'm apparently not the only person to believe this, since Leoni will appear in Woody Allen's yet-to-be-titled movie, which will be released in 2002.
Character-actor Michael Jeter (The Green Mile, Miller's Crossing, The Fisher King) does a great job as Udesky, the man who organizes the trip to Isla Sorna for the Kirbys. I was relieved that Jeter didn't play a whiny loser character, as is too often the case for him. The rest of the cast includes Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off, Best Laid Plans, Love's Labour's Lost) as Grant's protégé and Trevor Morgan as the Kirby's 14-year-old son. Incidentally, this is the second time that Morgan has played in a dinosaur movie ...the first being Barney's Great Adventure! By the way, Johnston is not the only one to have taken over someone else's work. Don Davis composed the musical score and reprised John Williams' theme in a brilliant way. I enjoyed the score, which really served to enhance the scenes. I encourage you to see Jurassic Park III, as it provides a lot of bang for the buck. You should also hurry to see it, since this is the kind of movie that does not translate well to the small screen and the more you wait, the more you'll have seen the trailers, which reveal way too much about the movie. Reviewed on July 19, 2001 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ABOUT MOVIECRITIC.CA | AWARDS | FAQ | CONTACT US | PRIVACY POLICY | USER SURVEY |
|
This page was last updated on: Sunday, 21-Mar-2004 16:21:17 CST © 1998-2004 Luc-Rock Paquin. All Rights Reserved. All movie images © by their respective owners. Used with permission. Before "borrowing" something from my site, please ask me. "Reel Canadian Movie Critic" logo by FranclyGraphic.com. 
|
