22 years to the day after the classic and iconic original "Jurassic Park" was released in theatres to the thunderous roar of moviegoers enthusiastically responding to the roars of incredible fully realized dinosaurs; a feat that broke major ground in digital effects, "Jurassic World" has now stomped into theatres hoping for the same reaction, multiplied.

 

After two previous sequels that some would call mediocre or just OK, the new Colin Trevorrow directed reboot, with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall onboard as executive producer and producer, respectively, tries really hard to match the true wonder, excitement and thrills of the original. The sad news is that the film's CG dinosaurs and two-dimensional characters exhibit a well worn "been there, done that" reaction.

 

One of the major issues is that this "World" and the people who populate it are never given enough ramp-up from what came before to resonate. After John Hammond's (the late Richard Attenborough) wondrous unveiling turns to mayhem and death, how did this new Disney World-esque attraction survive the controversy that must have all but choked the life out of such a humongous endeavor ever coming to fruition.

 

While just a bit more dialogue addressing this gap might have sufficed, the filmmakers don't seem to be interested in giving this story any depth of purpose or emotion even on its own, allowing a potential new threat by a giant genetically hybrid dinosaur to take down anything and everything in its path, leaving us feeling very little sense of loss or connection.

 

Interestingly enough, Chris Pratt proves one very prominent point in his portrayal of an ex-Navy naturalist who is the voice of reason over corporate urgings to go bigger, better and "with more teeth"; that if another Indiana Jones movie ever gets the green light, this recently knighted "Star Lord" might be the best choice to don the fedora and grab the whip.

 

Now, I know I’m going to get a lot of backlash for this remark, but before you crack your whips, please remember that I am THE STAUNCHEST supporter of the notion that Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones and NO ONE else can ever replace him!! But of course you know the studio system mentality of today: “Who cares about respect and honor for what came before, let’s mine the crap out of it!!!”

 

With Pratt as a high note in the movie, the other actors never seem to rise above the two-dimensional or one-note characters they inhabit.

Bryce Dallas Howard is fine as Claire Dearing, the park's operations manager, yet we never really feel any true connection between her and Pratt, which is implied throughout; nor does her character stand out when she must doff her corporate high heels and go out in the field to find her missing nephews, played by Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins. And by the way, these two can’t even hold a candle to Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello in the original “Jurassic Park”, as you must realize the studio was certainly going for in this new adventure; the kid factor.

 

I didn’t once feel any real concern for these two brothers, who almost seemed to take what was happening to them in stride as opposed to communicating terror to the audience. A subplot about their parents (Judy Greer and Andy Buckley) moving towards getting a divorce never goes anywhere, and a one is left wondering why this was ever in the script in the first place. Not to mention the older brother’s ineptness with girls. These aspects are kind of pointless and unnecessary.

 

Irrfan Khan as Simon Masrani, CEO of the Masrani Corporation and the owner of Jurassic World, also never manages to gain any true connection. He’s simply a figurehead character as overseer whose just learned how to fly a helicopter; his high point in the story.

 

B.D. Wong, as the only actor to reprise a role from any of the previous films, once again portrays Dr. Henry Wu, the chief geneticist and head of the team that created the dinosaurs for the park. His questionable motives in connection with Vincent D’Onofrio’s character almost feel like a re-run of Dennis Nedry’s (Wayne Knight) subversive actions as the disgruntled architect of the park's computer systems stealing embryos for a competing company.

I understand the filmmakers and studio wanting to create something new that stands on its own two (dinosaur) feet, but giving us more resonating characters and some real depth would have given this new tent pole a real shot at actually being a great, fresh start.

 

There are a couple of moments in the movie where we are treated to subtle connective call-outs to the first film; one includes the discover of the now grown over main entrance foyer along with a pair of jeeps and a bit of equipment in a storage garage from the original park. This was probably the only point in the movie where I leaned forward in my chair and thought, “Wow, that’s cool.” Hearing John Williams’ “Jurassic Park” theme on occasion was also a wonderfully welcome touch. One throwback to an iconic scene involving a flair from the original "Jurassic Park" is rather ham-fisted near the end of the film, however.

 

But again, due to the overuse of CG, even outside the dinosaur realizations, I still felt as though Jurassic World was a hallow place made up of pixels instead of a living breathing theme park with thousands of people and the wonders they experience there.

 

The Indominus Rex, created in the lab by geneticists at the park to ensure longevity of the public’s interest, which has waned a bit since Jurassic World’s opening 10 years previous, is certainly an ominous and foreboding creature to behold, almost leaving the T-rex in the dust as far as major threat in the story. A mystery surrounding what exact mixture of DNA was used in the lab to create this behemoth definitely brings some innovative ideas and twists in the story, not to mention the use of velociraptors as aids to the humans attempting to stop Indominus.

 

However, the other “bad guy” in the story, played by Vincent D'Onofrio, is a one-note security operations head who has bigger plans for the militarization of velociraptors, trained by Chris Platt’s character to respond to commands from birth. D'Onofrio isn’t bad, but his role is somewhat reminiscent of the late Pete Postlethwaite’s big game hunter in “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”.

 

With respect to the CG artists, I’m not saying the digital dinosaurs are badly done; quite the contrary in fact. I’m merely pointing out that the glorious wonder of seeing 65 million year-old species reborn in the first movie, and even the two sequels that followed, cannot be topped by this new movie. It’s almost impossible to catch lightning in a bottle twice, yet some studios and filmmakers repeatedly make the attempt.

 

“Jurassic World” is a movie, which is not bad at all but just not great, that tries to keep your heart racing when that was already accomplished in this world of reborn dinosaurs to the fullest extent in 1993 with the unbeatable original “Jurassic Park”.