Reading this review it was increasingly clear to me that you didn't actually watch the movie...
... And your mention of Stuff Blowing Up confirmed my suspicion.
There was a single explosion in the movie, and it was in the background entirely understated. With the main focus being on the I. Rex.
There were two: the helicopter crash, and I remember one when the T-Rex and the I-rex were fighting. There was a lot more fire, but that's not so easily potholed into a trope.
Project progress: The Adroan (102k words), The Pigeon Witch, (40k). Done but in need of reworking: Yume Hime, (50k)
I'm not sure which one you're talking about, but that might have brought it up to three. Either way, that's the least important part of the review.
Project progress: The Adroan (102k words), The Pigeon Witch, (40k). Done but in need of reworking: Yume Hime, (50k)
Well you're right about one thing; this movie is all the best parts of the last three movies, made to reinvigorate the franchise
It's not perfect, but it does succeed in that to some degree, as seen by majority review scores and box office records
And lack of interesting or relatable, I don't agree with; they were both imo. Plus ugly, fat, minority Red shirts? Granted there were a few like that, but not all of them were or even a majority - and those that were were 'Hollywood' ugly/fat at best (ie not really that bad). No suspense? They took time before showing the I. Rex in any dose, much like the original Rexie (who's entrance is awesome whether you saw the first film or not)
I kinda have to agree with phylos in that you either didn't watch the movie, or that you saw it through some sort of bias (making assumptions and the like). And well, you wouldn't be the first; a few pre-release people claimed Claire was sexist, so numerous people went in expecting sexist, and more-or-less got it purely because of the tainted preview comments
... Still just one explosion, so stuff blowing up doesn't apply.
And there was very little "fire" besides the helicopter explosion and in the buildings, which still wasn't an explosion.
Replying to yourself doesn't help in the slightest in proving your argument, btw.
I was also bothered by the deaths....
I fully agree with the review, you are not the only one that left unimpressed!
"this movie is all the best parts of the last three movies" Really? I haven't seen it (it certainly doesn't need me to), but tell me, does it have any line as memorable, or as iconic, as "Life finds a way?" Or Dr. Malcolm entire explanation about chaos theory, for that matter, which was also excellent and exactly what set the original from countless disaster movies before or since.
Not a single review I've seen tells me it ever comes close to matching the original in terms of writing. I did hear that the human antagonist apparently wants to send Velociraptors to fight in Iraq, so that's one more reason to wait for DVD for me.
...Am I the only one who finds Dr. Malcolm insufferable and his lines trite? The original Jurassic Park was never anything more than a specious Appeal to Nature ridden examination of the cloning issue anyway. There never *was* a grand theme to lose in translation.
@NTC 3 I said it takes the best parts of the three, in the sense of putting them together in one movie; I didn't say it matched the original. But compared to the last two movies, it's vastly improved
And yes, our human villain wants to weaponize raptors, despite everyone and everything telling him that's the dumbest idea imaginable (because these raptors aren't controlled, as he thinks they are/could be)
And to the OP, it wasn't really Science Is Bad, nor Take That America; not specifically anyway. If anything, it was deconstructing aspects of business, such as the executive decisions, putting money ahead of morals, dropping what works for the next fad, etc.
In-film, investors see a minor dip in tourist numbers (literally, minor; they still had thousands and thousands of visitors), and they get worried to the point of doing something about it. And rather than adjust with the dinosaurs they already have, they automatically/immediately decide they need something bigger, cooler... 'new' in other words, because the old seemingly doesn't work anymore, and they're not willing to try. And then of course, Hoskins, who is all about capitalizing on this scheme, also presses his luck with the raptors on the spot, 'conveniently' ignoring/not seeing the other side of things (that these guys are dangerous wild animals, not programmable bio-soldiers).
So not a Take That to America in general, just Hollywood + other similar business mentalities imo
Sounds like you went in already convinced about what you were going to see, so that's all you saw.
To clarify:
Yes, I did watch it. No, I didn't watch it with any preconceptions: in fact, I didn't watch any trailers or read any reviews of it before going in. I'll admit I was in a foul mood when I saw it due to unrelated life stuff, but I don't think that affected it much, since analyzing it more in hindsight hasn't made me like it more. (Plus, I saw Inside Out in the same mood and enjoyed it a lot more.) I will give it a second chance at some point, though.
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I seem to be the only one here who didn't like it.
It rehashed the same themes as all the other movies in the series, with the same stock characters and situations, but more over-the-top. And where the original just told you its moral, this one ties it to a beatstick and goes savage on the audience: For example, some scenes bordered on overt Science Is Bad territory, and Hoskins' entire character made me feel like someone was screaming "Take That, America!" an inch from my face.
Oh yeah, about the characters: they just weren't that interesting. the two leads were paper-thin "badass outdoorsman" and "businessperson who learns to be badass" stereotypes, and the rest seemed to have been made by a robot analyzing the first three movies. There was the Corrupt Corporate Executive; the obnoxious computer guy; the screaming kids who exist just to almost get killed even though you know they won't be; the same pack of mostly fat, ugly, or minority Red Shirts; and the herd of clueless bystanders. Although none of them were anywhere near as likeable as the original's. The writing left a lot to be desired in general: the dialog was bloated and often unnecessary, and you can see every "twist" and character death coming a mile away.
The movie's main selling point is its obligatory CGI carnage. That's fine, I guess, but the movie was way too eager to show it off. There was no awesome Monster Delay like the T-Rex's or the Velociraptors' in the original, they just shove the dinosaurs in your face as soon as possible. And where the original took time to ramp up suspense, many of this one's action scenes were just mindless death and destruction festivals.
...But at least all that Stuff Blowing Up and getting smashed up, lit on fire, and trampled looked real cool, right?
To be honest, I found it kind of repulsive, and it exemplified a lot of what I don't like about Hollywood movies now.