PLOT: Things go wrong as paleontologists are conned by couple into helping them find their missing son, trapped amongst dinosaurs on restricted island.
REVIEW: Third installment of the lucrative, entertaining, but creatively limp film franchise is not nearly as good as the first movie, but a slight improvement over the second. Sam Niell, who deserves to be a bigger star than he is, is the film's anchor as he returns as paleontologist and reluctant action hero Dr. Alan Grant. William H. Macy and Alessandro Nivola also give good performances, although this film really doesn't have anything in the way of character development. As directed by Joe Johnston, "Jurassic Park III" is as efficient and effective as a Raptor attack, cramming a lot of thrills, laughs, and wonders into the 90 minute running time. The victim of constant script revisions, the story seems to have been left behind in previous drafts and on the editing room floor, but the shallow plot serves well as a gateway into a prehistoric world, filled with new and intriguing dinosaurs, without any pretense. I was left wanting more, and this movie deserves a "special edition" with extra footage, but that is probably better than wanting less. The film also scores points for parodying movies of this type, and is a shameless example of cinema as amusement park ride in its purest form, although the finale chickens out in the end. A simple, good ol' fashioned matinee monster movie, but you won't be left with much to ponder on the way out of the theatre.
REVIEW: Third installment of the lucrative, entertaining, but creatively limp film franchise is not nearly as good as the first movie, but a slight improvement over the second. Sam Niell, who deserves to be a bigger star than he is, is the film's anchor as he returns as paleontologist and reluctant action hero Dr. Alan Grant. William H. Macy and Alessandro Nivola also give good performances, although this film really doesn't have anything in the way of character development. As directed by Joe Johnston, "Jurassic Park III" is as efficient and effective as a Raptor attack, cramming a lot of thrills, laughs, and wonders into the 90 minute running time. The victim of constant script revisions, the story seems to have been left behind in previous drafts and on the editing room floor, but the shallow plot serves well as a gateway into a prehistoric world, filled with new and intriguing dinosaurs, without any pretense. I was left wanting more, and this movie deserves a "special edition" with extra footage, but that is probably better than wanting less. The film also scores points for parodying movies of this type, and is a shameless example of cinema as amusement park ride in its purest form, although the finale chickens out in the end. A simple, good ol' fashioned matinee monster movie, but you won't be left with much to ponder on the way out of the theatre.