Jurassic World

I cannot describe how thrilled I was to hear that a new Jurassic Park movie was coming out. Twenty-two years after the original was released, Jurassic World premiered, and practically on the same day as well. I was so excited to see the movie, even though we saw it at 10:30 p.m. opening day. I have to say that I was not disappointed. Jurassic World was an incredible movie and instantly one of my favorite movies of the year.

For those of you who haven't seen the movie yet, stop reading and go see it. Seriously, right now. I'd go myself and I've already seen it in theaters twice. And if you're going to see it, do it in IMAX 3D. You will not be disappointed. I can't explain enough how wonderful this movie is. It's an instant classic for my family, not the least of which is because it's a Christmas movie. We do love Christmas movies.

So, a quick rundown of events before everything goes wrong. Zach and Gray are going to Jurassic World for a week. Their parents see them off at the airport (with a lovely statement of foreshadowing: "If something chases you, run"). Their Aunt Claire works at the park, and we soon learn she is actually the operations manager of the park. She is really the main character of the movie but more on that later. Claire is promoting a new dinosaur that the lab created called the Indominus Rex. She brings Owen in to inspect the paddock and everything goes wrong from there. The Indominus escapes and wrecks havoc and kills people. During all this, Zach and Gray were missing so Claire and Owen search for them. They all come together again and Owen, who works closely with the Velociraptors, attempts to use the Raptors to track the Indominus. Of course, it doesn't work and the Raptors turn on the humans. But everything works out in the end, one way or another, and most people are able to escape the island alive.

First of all, I loved the nods to the original movie. Obviously the theme plays a huge part in the movie. It's very sentimental and they clearly use it to their advantage. It works perfectly during the parts that are a link to the original movie. One such moment is when Zach and Gray discover the old welcome center. It's completely overgrown and wild but so recognizable still. Inside, they find the old welcome banner, a pair of night vision googles, and the old park vehicles. There are also other less obvious nods. The T-Rex in the park is the same one from the original movie. Yes, she's still alive and still kicking (or killing). And of course, the whole flare scene is obviously a mirror image. It's such an iconic scene; how could they not repeat it?

Now, for the characters. The younger brother, Gray, is me. Really he's probably all of us. His complete awe and excitement about everything dealing with the park is exactly how I would react if I was in his place. Dr. Wu, the main scientist, actually dies in the book and I was a little disappointed when I first read the book that he hadn't died in the movie. I was really hoping he would this time. Instead, he's evil and doesn't die. He's creating dinosaurs like the Indominus, dinosaurs that are dangerous and deadly. They plan to use such dinosaurs as weapons in war, which doesn't exactly work when the dinosaurs eat you instead. Wu gets away with a case of samples, strongly hinting at a sequel. As far as the owner goes, Mr. Masrani is infinitely better that Hammond. Hammond in the movies is bad enough but in the book he's even worse. Mr. Masrani actually tries to do the right thing once he realizes that the Indominus is a threat. Unfortunately, he is killed in a helicopter crash.

I can't really talk about Owen without also discussing the Raptors. I know some people were hesitant when it was alluded to that the Raptors had been trained and "domesticated". However, for years people have been training wild animals and using them in circuses and the like. Lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) are popular circus animals and also capable of eating your face. So why not train Raptors? They will always be wild animals and never be domestic but that doesn't mean they can't be trained. And honestly they were totally awesome and Owen's relationship with them was brilliant. Of course, part of what made Owen so great was that Chris Pratt played him.

As for the rest of the dinosaurs, they were wonderful and magical as always. The baby dino petting zoo was a brilliant touch, and my sister is totally scarred because one of the Pterodactyls tried to grab one of the Triceratops. One of the saddest moments was definitely watching the Brachiosaurus (or whichever long-neck it was) die after being attacked by the Indominus. It was so sad and heartbreaking. The Indominus was pretty cool, despite the whole murdering people thing. I was glad to see they made her able to camouflage, as the main villain dinosaur in the Jurassic Park sequel book can camouflage. And overall, the Indominus was absolutely terrifying.

Lastly, we come to Claire. She is really the main character throughout the movie. She is the person who goes through the biggest change in character. Claire begins the movie as very structured and focused, the perfect businesswoman. She is more worried about her career than being a mother, and more worried about numbers and stats than about feelings. But between watching the Brachiosaurus die and loosing her nephews, Claire grows as a person. I know some people find her outfit (skirt and heels) ridiculous but as a businesswoman that's just how Claire would dress. And Bryce Dalls Howard actually wore those heels and did all that running in them. I personally find that impressive because I know I'd break an ankle. So if Raptors can be trained, then why can't a woman run in heels?

Simply put, I loved Jurassic World. Even though I've seen it twice in theaters I would go see it again in a heartbeat. It was fun and terrifying and had a lot more blood than the original. I grew up with Jurassic Park and cannot remember a time when I didn't watch the movie. The sequels are good, but Jurassic World easily rivals the original. It's an adventure only 22 years in the making, instead of 65 million.