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cjlasky7Yeah yeah, I know, I know: I heard it sucked, too. But my kid wanted to see it, and I wasn't doing anything better on a Saturday morning...
But you know what? I liked it!
Oh, it's not a great movie by any means. The main plot is absolutely bog standard Jurassic Park and the dino fights are stuff we've seen a million times before. Anyone expecting the pop artistry of Spielberg is going to be very disappointed.
But the one feature the movie promised that truly delivers: the cast of the original Jurassic Park and the cast of the Jurassic World movies--together. No glorified cameo appearances, or saying hi over Zoom; all the big stars of both ends of the franchise operating as integral parts of the movie--and holy cow, it works!
So, instead of seeing this movie as a bunch of people running and screaming from dinosaurs, think of it as a high school reunion movie. Popular girl and class valedictorian Ellie Satler (Laura Dern) reconnects with her old class crush, Alan Grant (Sam Neill, now with extra grizzle) and the two of them get into hijinks with former class clown Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). Dern is as bright and beautiful as ever. Neill doesn't have too much reason to be there, but he (and his character) seems to be perfectly content to just hang around Dern for the length of the movie. (Honestly, would you really need additional motivation?)
Meanwhile, Ian Malcolm zings Goldblum-y commentary all over the plot of the movie, and whether or not he's embarrassed to participate in yet another IP/legacy cash grab. He's especially funny when interacting with the new kids and some of the more riseable concepts of the new movies:
OWEN: I promised Blue I would get her back.
IAN: You made a promise... to a dinosaur.
...and such.
The new kids--Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Isabella Sermon (as clone girl Maisie Lockwood)--are perfectly fine. Pratt is in action hero mode, which means he's a bit boring, but not intolerably so. (He has some nice scenes with Dawanda Wise as a sort of black lesbian Han Solo, as they bond over their mutual attraction to redheads.) Howard, thankfully, is nowhere near a set of high heels, and probably gives her best performance from the three JW movies. Sermon plays Maisie like an obnoxious sheltered teen, but works well with B.D. Wong's Henry Wu (who apparently is sick of being the oblivious evil scientist in these movies, and works hard for his redemption arc).
No, the evil scientist here is Campbell Scott's Lewis Dodgson, and he is hilarious. Dodgson is a parody of modern, "in touch with the zeitgeist" CEOs (see: Steve Jobs), and his first meeting with Satler and Grant is a master class in unctuousness. In between humblebrags and showing how much he loves his employees, he does everything to make Satler and Grant feel special short of brewing them a pot of Chai tea. (You SO want a dinosaur to eat him.)
I wish Colin Trevorrow more fully explored the question posed at the beginning of the movie: what would happen if dinosaurs were reborn in the modern world? How would they affect global ecology? It's a fascinating question, but the movie veers off almost immediately into Dodgson's dastardly evol plot. But then again, you can't expect too much innovation from the sixth movie of a multi-billion dollar franchise. If you do go, enjoy it for what it is....
But you know what? I liked it!
Oh, it's not a great movie by any means. The main plot is absolutely bog standard Jurassic Park and the dino fights are stuff we've seen a million times before. Anyone expecting the pop artistry of Spielberg is going to be very disappointed.
But the one feature the movie promised that truly delivers: the cast of the original Jurassic Park and the cast of the Jurassic World movies--together. No glorified cameo appearances, or saying hi over Zoom; all the big stars of both ends of the franchise operating as integral parts of the movie--and holy cow, it works!
So, instead of seeing this movie as a bunch of people running and screaming from dinosaurs, think of it as a high school reunion movie. Popular girl and class valedictorian Ellie Satler (Laura Dern) reconnects with her old class crush, Alan Grant (Sam Neill, now with extra grizzle) and the two of them get into hijinks with former class clown Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum). Dern is as bright and beautiful as ever. Neill doesn't have too much reason to be there, but he (and his character) seems to be perfectly content to just hang around Dern for the length of the movie. (Honestly, would you really need additional motivation?)
Meanwhile, Ian Malcolm zings Goldblum-y commentary all over the plot of the movie, and whether or not he's embarrassed to participate in yet another IP/legacy cash grab. He's especially funny when interacting with the new kids and some of the more riseable concepts of the new movies:
OWEN: I promised Blue I would get her back.
IAN: You made a promise... to a dinosaur.
...and such.
The new kids--Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Isabella Sermon (as clone girl Maisie Lockwood)--are perfectly fine. Pratt is in action hero mode, which means he's a bit boring, but not intolerably so. (He has some nice scenes with Dawanda Wise as a sort of black lesbian Han Solo, as they bond over their mutual attraction to redheads.) Howard, thankfully, is nowhere near a set of high heels, and probably gives her best performance from the three JW movies. Sermon plays Maisie like an obnoxious sheltered teen, but works well with B.D. Wong's Henry Wu (who apparently is sick of being the oblivious evil scientist in these movies, and works hard for his redemption arc).
No, the evil scientist here is Campbell Scott's Lewis Dodgson, and he is hilarious. Dodgson is a parody of modern, "in touch with the zeitgeist" CEOs (see: Steve Jobs), and his first meeting with Satler and Grant is a master class in unctuousness. In between humblebrags and showing how much he loves his employees, he does everything to make Satler and Grant feel special short of brewing them a pot of Chai tea. (You SO want a dinosaur to eat him.)
I wish Colin Trevorrow more fully explored the question posed at the beginning of the movie: what would happen if dinosaurs were reborn in the modern world? How would they affect global ecology? It's a fascinating question, but the movie veers off almost immediately into Dodgson's dastardly evol plot. But then again, you can't expect too much innovation from the sixth movie of a multi-billion dollar franchise. If you do go, enjoy it for what it is....
no subject
Date: 2022-06-27 02:34 am (UTC)1. Jurassic World Dominion- are the kids from the first one back? I'd thought they might be, as adults? (The two kids that Alan saved.)
*(As an aside - I want to watch for Sam Neil and possibly the Black Woman Pilot- I've had a crush on him for a long time. And follow him on Twitter, adorable as ever. I tolerate Dern - who is actually better in this film than most of the stuff I've seen her in. I kept getting her confused with another actress - the one who was in Vr5 - Hannah, I think. They look alike.)
(And damn, I was going to beg someone to see that with me. But alas, no cigar. I know for a fact Wales won't. Oh well, I can wait until it ends up on HBO Max.)
2. Have you seen the Doctor Strange flick yet? (I just saw it on streaming.)
no subject
Date: 2022-06-27 03:55 am (UTC)Dawanda Wise is really really good here. She's got a Harrison Ford vibe as the pilot, and she works well with the rest of the cast, especially Pratt. As I said, Pratt is boring in action hero mode, but the scenes with Wise remind you he can be funny.
Alan Grant is here because... Ellie Sattler asked him. Yeah, he gives good Reassuring Dad, and he helps save the world, but if anybody else asked (Malcolm?), he might have said no. He blew it with Ellie 30 years ago and he wasn't going to make the same mistake again. It's not much of a character arc. But I don't think Alan--or Sam--really minds.
************
No, I haven't seen the Dr. Strange movie yet. The past two weeks have just been awful, and I'm just barely recovering my equilibrium. (I'll do a post about it soon. Maybe. I don't know.)
(I read your review and yourlibrarian's review. I might be able to add something from a long-time Dr. Strange fanboy's pov, but you two have got it well covered.)
I do still plan to see it in theaters next week, when the wife and kid take their summer jaunt down to Pennsylvania. I look forward to seeing Sam Raimi behind the camera again. The Spidey movies, Evil Dead, A Simple Plan, Darkman--I am definitely a fan.
I do NOT look forward to the Scarlet Witch plotline. I'm sick and tired of Wanda as the trauma victim who's out of control and could destroy the world with her wacky magic. Seen it too many times in the comics. (Do something different!)
One more initial reaction from a Dr. Strange fanboy:
Charlize Theron as Clea?
HELL YES!!! (fist pump)
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Date: 2022-06-27 05:10 pm (UTC)I'm just be-bopping along.
Regarding Doctor Strange? There's a lot of time spent on Wanda.
I do NOT look forward to the Scarlet Witch plotline. I'm sick and tired of Wanda as the trauma victim who's out of control and could destroy the world with her wacky magic. Seen it too many times in the comics. (Do something different!)
It's more DarkWillow than Wanda though in this film. She's in control of her magic, but her grief has caused her to go insane (someone at Marvel has serious Monny issues or kid issues). It's about 50% of the film and a disappointing drag.
Charlize Theron's debute as Clea is well...after the first credits roll, and a blink and you miss it appareance. She's not really in the film except for the half-second it takes to yank him into another verse.
But you'll enjoy the Rami stuff more than I did - it's definitely a Sam Rami film. He puts in all of signature touches, sometimes crams them in there whether or not they belong. LOL!
no subject
Date: 2022-06-27 06:57 pm (UTC)I'm fairly sure Whedon based Dark!Willow on when the Scarlet Witch was possessed by the Darkhold (Avengers 180 something or other), so that's not a surprise.
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Date: 2022-06-27 11:09 pm (UTC)I'm waiting to see what they do with Doctor Strange 3 first, and if the casting holds. It should happen - the film made enough to guarantee a third film at least.