Film: Jurassic World

Year: 2015

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Some swearing may be involved here. Yeah, I got a little heated... Spoilers for Jurassic World and Shin Godzilla.

You may be surprised to know that I absolutely despise Jurassic World with a passion. To me, it's a whole lot of lost potential swimming in a sewage filled with acid that fizzled away any of the philosophical themes or spectacular moments that made the original so brilliant, leaving behind a superficial shell of references, the most basic cinematography possible, and monsters that eat away at your IQ points until they become negative. (Okay, I got carried away in that description, but I like it so I'm keeping it. Even if it makes little sense to most people who read it).

I waited years for this movie (before it was even announced. I was a kid who wanted more Jurassic movies, and I would always look up if there was a Jurassic Park 4). When the announcement came that it was being made, i was overjoyed. I remember how anxious I got when the film was on hold indefinitely, and how I ended up trying to look for updates on the film all the time. I saw the ending before the film even came out (there was an illegal video of it linked on IMDB forums at some point). When I saw the movie for the first time, I loved it way more than I should. I put it at the same level as the original, saying it was more intense than Alien (Oh, how I regret those words. Alien makes Jurassic World look like Barney the fucking dinosaur), and how I loved that Tarantino-style blood splatter in that shot of Delta killing Hoskins (one of the stupidest things that ever came out of my mouth. If Tarantino had directed this movie, I would've liked it a whole lot more.)

But, as you can tell, I hate it now. It was on my second viewing when I began to think it wasn't as good as my first viewing, and on the third viewing, I just... hated it. I'm glad it exists, but... I just wish Trevorrow wasn't directing Jurassic World 3. I wish Fallen Kingdom (which I liked more than the first JW) didn't have such a bad script. Don't get me wrong— I really like Fallen Kingdom, but only as a guilty pleasure. I acknowledge it's flaws, and get why a lot of people hate it— but, since I'm quite a visually-oriented person, the shots that J A Bayona crafted in the sequel were just... beautiful. And I adore the shift in tone to a more horror-esque film in the final third (EDIT: Though there were some scenes with 'humour' in the middle of action/horror sequences, which was, as always, annoying).

Anyway, back on track. I hate to say this, but I wish Trevorrow wasn't writing/directing these films. He does have some good ideas- it's the execution at which they falter.

I really hate to say it, but the Jurassic World movies are just... stupid. Not because of the trained raptors, or the hybrid dinosaurs-- but because of how... superficial it just is. 

Honestly? I really like the idea of a hybrid dinosaur. Through its creation, the film could potentially explore the moral and philosophical implications of the animal's existence. Imagine this: the Indominus does not kill because she is sadistic, but rather, because she is suffering-- she is a hybrid, and it would be fascinating to see how a creature created only for the sake of entertainment escapes and wreaks havoc because she exists against her will. Or maybe she does it out of fear, or anger, something a bit stronger than mere sadism. I would like Jurassic World much more if it at least tried to build its monster pathos-- and, before you say anything, it is absolutely possible to make a monster tragic, while simultaneously making it terrifying. My personal favourite example is Godzilla from the 2016 Shin Godzilla-- Godzilla is a constantly mutating, destructive force that kills whatever is before his path-- and yet, those who will have seen the film will be familiar with that scene. When Godzilla is hit with these MOP bombs, he bleeds for the first time-- this ushers in the most breathtaking scene in the film, where he unleashes his atomic breath upon Tokyo, killing multiple people while a wall of fire burns around him. You witness the destruction he causes-- and yet, at the same time as this scene, a tragic, beautiful song plays. It is called Who Will Know, by Shiro Sagisu (one of my favourite film composers), and the lyrics are from the point of view of Godzilla himself. Shin Godzilla is simultaneously the most terrifying, as well as the most tragic, incarnation of the character. That one scene was honestly better than both of the Jurassic World movies combined. Hell, I like Shin Godzilla more than the entire Jurassic franchise. If Jurassic World was made in the style of Shin Godzilla, I can't begin to express how much I would love it. Honestly? Go watch Shin Godzilla.

However, what do we get in Jurassic World? Well, the closest we get is mention that the Indominus rex was not properly socialised, and Masrani commenting 'are you suggesting the dinosaur is contemplating its existence?' or some shit like that. In other words, nothing. You know it's a problem when the fucking Pokemon Movie manages to do a better job at conveying the problems with genetically engineering a living being than the film that is meant to be a precaution against GENETICALLY ENGINEERING LIVING BEINGS.

You know what also pisses me off? The fact that when the raptor squad dies, Owen shows absolutely no response. Charlie, the raptor he raised from since she was a little baby, is literally blown up in front of him, and he looks like he saw that his shoelaces are untied.  Echo and Delta also die, and yet, I (and apparently Owen as well) felt no emotion when I watched it happen. Blue's 'bond' with Owen was practically nonexistent (It was much stronger in Fallen Kingdom, though). This entire film is just void of emotions. Except hate, because I really hate this movie. But at no point do I truly feel invested. I want the kids to be eaten-- okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, so I will sentence them to being off camera. Owen? He's boring to me, I would literally feel nothing if he got eaten (maybe I would be a little happy as this would mean the films are taking risks by offing a protagonist. Also I dislike Chris Pratt). Claire? I quite liked her in Fallen Kingdom, but she was quite boring here. Hoskins? I wish he had a better motive-- one fault of Jurassic Park films in general is that the antagonist is always so one-dimensional.

Also, I fucking hate this movie's cinematography. It's so bland. And there was a ridiculous overuse of CGI. I would even say the same for Fallen Kingdom, since there were so many shots where an animatronic could've been used and would've vastly improved the shot. But Fallen Kingdom had much better cinematography, the shot of the Indoraptor crying out with the moon behind him was atmospheric, and I loved the upside-down shot of him creeping down to Maisie's door. I disliked the music here, it was quite generic (again, FK did it better). I don't like how nothing in Jurassic World is truly scary-- the chase scene with the raptors and the van could've been terrifying, but it's... not? At all? And what was with the babysitter's horrible death? Why are none of the deaths taken seriously?? The two kids watch people being eaten and torn apart, yet they barely react!

Ah, and also-- what the hell is with the tone!? It's flying around everywhere like a demented dragonfly. Two little kids are being chased by a giant dinosaur, the next second they are laughing. And it's not even hysterical laughter, it's the most normal laughter ever, like their best friend just pushed them in a pool. As mentioned before, deaths hold no weight whatsoever, the dinosaurs are not scary (even though the Indominus had serious potential), and the movie tries to be 'comedic' when it just destroys the tension.

I'll end with this: Sometime after watching the movie, I ended up writing a crappy, cringy fanfiction that can be found to this day (I won't link it, because that's suicidal, but I'll mention it because I want to). It was terrible, written from the POV of the Indominus, and followed her as she spirals into uncontrollable insanity and lust after she mercy-kills her sister. It was really bad, but I like that it exists, even if I hate it at the same time.

(And I secretly like it more than the movie, because at least the fanfic is so bad it's good).