As an action/adventure film, Jurassic Park III achieves basic competence, which is not surprising since it was directed by reliable veteran Joe Johnston. As a sequel of one of the best blockbusters of all time, the first Jurassic Park, it's depressingly mediocre. Gone are the awe and terror of the original; dinosaurs are just other movie monsters chasing the heroes - and this starts about a minute after they land on the island. So long for build-up.
There are some small pleasures. The always charismatic Sam Neill is back as Alan Grant... although the movie immediately pulls an Alien 3 on him by revealing that he and Ellie split up and Alan is a miserable loner. I guess it does not *completely* undermine his character arc in Jurassic Park from aloof child-hater to caring protector (one can certainly grow as a person even if he ends up alone), but still.
Choosing the Spinosaurus as the main threat was an interesting idea, as it's a cool creature and not as overused as the T-Rex and the Raptors have become. And I really like the moment with the Pterodactyl hobbling out of the fog: it's a striking, memorable image, which is rare for a Jurassic Park sequel.
And that's it. Character interactions are perfunctory, most set-pieces nowhere close those of the previous films (I hated The Lost World but it did have a few great action scenes), the premise is stupid (with the little kid surviving on his own on a dinosaur-infested island for weeks) and the ending is a complete deus-ex-machina.
(Incidentally, although there are several mentions of "T-Rex urine", dinosaurs didn't have urine like mammals do: they emitted it mixed with feces from a cloaca, like birds and reptiles. But that's the least of the film's problems).
5,5/10
There are some small pleasures. The always charismatic Sam Neill is back as Alan Grant... although the movie immediately pulls an Alien 3 on him by revealing that he and Ellie split up and Alan is a miserable loner. I guess it does not *completely* undermine his character arc in Jurassic Park from aloof child-hater to caring protector (one can certainly grow as a person even if he ends up alone), but still.
Choosing the Spinosaurus as the main threat was an interesting idea, as it's a cool creature and not as overused as the T-Rex and the Raptors have become. And I really like the moment with the Pterodactyl hobbling out of the fog: it's a striking, memorable image, which is rare for a Jurassic Park sequel.
And that's it. Character interactions are perfunctory, most set-pieces nowhere close those of the previous films (I hated The Lost World but it did have a few great action scenes), the premise is stupid (with the little kid surviving on his own on a dinosaur-infested island for weeks) and the ending is a complete deus-ex-machina.
(Incidentally, although there are several mentions of "T-Rex urine", dinosaurs didn't have urine like mammals do: they emitted it mixed with feces from a cloaca, like birds and reptiles. But that's the least of the film's problems).
5,5/10