Jurassic Park III


Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, William H. Macy, Tea Leoni, Michael Jeter, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Action, Thriller
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A wealthy couple (William H. Macy, Tea Leoni) hire Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) to be their guide as they fly low over the "Site B" island of Jurassic Park. However, when they land on the island, Dr. Grant realizes everything is not as he expected- and soon, he finds himself running from dinosaurs, trying to survive again.

Review:

Tim: I doubt any film in this series will ever reach the awe-inspiring heights of the original. While I occasionally question whether this second sequel was necessary, I will admit that it is still a fairly good movie. It represents yet another decrease in quality from the second movie, but it has enough excitement and adventure to keep us entertained.

I was very much excited to see Sam Neill reprise his role as Dr. Alan Grant. Neill was undoubtedly my favorite part of the original Jurassic Park. I loved his character. In this film, it is great to see him back. However, he isn’t nearly as good as he is in the original. I’m not sure why this is—if it has to do with his performance, or the script (I’m inclined to believe the latter). Still, it is always great to see Grant on screen. I was also glad to see Laura Dern reprise her role, even if it is only for a few scenes. I did miss Jeff Goldblum, but I don’t blame him for sitting this one out. New additions William H. Macy and Tea Leoni are weak to say the least. Neither one really inspired me, and Leoni’s constant screams and stupid behavior made me annoyed throughout the movie.

I like that this movie is set on the “Site B” island, and that it really focuses on some different dinosaurs. This was actually a good movie, because as wonderful as the Tyrannosaurus Rex is, it is nice to see different dinosaurs after our heroes. The spinosaurus is a fairly impressive foe. I will say that although the special effects were greatly improved over the original, I had an easier time believing the dinosaurs in the earlier film. This was probably due to the direction of Steven Spielberg in the earlier film. The dinosaurs were perfectly woven into the overall film, and you believed what you were seeing. Joe Johnston, although a good director, is no Spielberg. Here, the dinosaurs stand out a little too much on their own, and therefore, are less believable.

The plot of this movie is probably the weakest of the three. A rescue mission is actually quite a good plot, but it was handled clumsily and never really works. It all seems like a convenient excuse to get our protagonists back on the island. Suffice to say, the plot disappointed me.

The movie does enough to keep us engaged, but there aren’t any of those ultra-tense, nerve racking moments that the first film had. There are a few decent suspenseful moments, but nothing extraordinary. Everything is a little too neat and orderly in the movie.

While I obviously have some criticisms of this film, I can also admit that it is probably better than most movies out there. It is the low point of the Jurassic Park trilogy, but there’s still quite a bit to like here.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park, E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Schindler's List, Jaws, Minority Report, Independence Day