The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet. — James Openheim

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson
Rating: 3 out of 5
Length: 130 minutes
Opening: Now playing

WALKING into the theatre to watch Jurassic World inevitably hits you with a sense of déjà vu – not only because most of us harbour memories of being thrilled by Jurassic Park 22 years ago back when computer-generated imagery (CGI) was in its infancy and animal cloning had not yet been successful; but also because you are bound to see the trailer of Terminator Genisys as well. Unlike the previous instalments of Terminator in which the timeline is sequential and events unfold from the first movie, Termintor Genisys is a reboot of the entire franchise, just like 2009’s Star Trek. Man-eating dinosaurs, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the return of the T-1000 robot… it’s almost as if we have gone back in time — two decades! 

Like all recent franchise reboots, Jurassic World ignores the events of parts 2 and 3, and instead takes places 22 years after Jurassic Park. This time, though, the park has become a major tourist attraction, with the visitor counter hitting the 20,000 mark each day. No more tall wire fences can be seen — the dinosaurs are now implanted with a chip that shocks them if they cross invisible barriers. People can interact with baby herbivores like Triceratops, and instead of jeeps, visitors now ride in translucent orbs that float past peacefully grazing dinosaurs. 

Our protagonists this time around are Owen (Chris Pratt), a military guy who’s something of a “dino whisperer”, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), the operations manager of the park, and her two nephews, Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson). 

Claire and Jurassic World’s board of directors have instructed Dr Henry Wu (BD Wong) to genetically engineer a brand new dinosaur using DNA from several other species in a bid to reinvigorate the park, making it even more attractive for visitors. Apparently, the public have seen dinosaurs so many times and children have grown up seeing them for so long that they are no longer thrilled by these animals, which have been extinct for millions of years. 

Predictably, the result is an ultra-intelligent, scary, bloodthirsty chameleon of a dinosaur named Indominus Rex — the size of a T-Rex, only much, much smarter. It quickly outwits its human creators and captors, wreaking havoc on the park by killing everything dumb enough to stand in its path. Why? Because it can, evidently. In the words of Owen himself, “it’s killing for sport”. 

Jurassic World offers almost nothing new aside from the vastly improved CGI. The characters are similar and the dinosaurs mindlessly going on a rampage get tiring halfway through the 2 ½-hour movie. There is no mind-blowing twist at the end, no real heart-warming scenes and the characters are sorely under-developed. 

Thankfully, Pratt and Dallas-Howard make the best of the script in creating two honestly likeable characters — probably even more likeable than the original ones. Sadly though, the storyline takes the backseat in this movie. Instead, it focuses on showing off the dinosaurs and awesome technological advancements that have taken place since the events of Jurassic Park. 

Obviously, the technology is rather impressive, as are the stunning views that the special effects team managed to create. And it is always fun to watch extinct giants chasing puny humans around, chomping them up whenever convenient — but it’s all been done before. 

There is really nothing fresh to look forward to in Jurassic World. Even the Indominus Rex just looks like a blown-up version of a Velociraptor, and therein lies the problem — reboots have been so popular in recent times because they offer filmmakers a chance to branch out and distance themselves from the original franchises, which Star Trek did immensely well. Jurassic World, however, fails in this respect — there is no “wow” factor for those of us who’ve seen Jurassic Park. 

If you haven’t seen the original movie though, definitely give Jurassic World a shot. It’s not a bad movie — it’s just a carbon copy of its “older sibling” with a more impressive name.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 12, 2015.