So it finally happened. years later, they made a 6th sequel to the original Jurassic Park movie, trying to steal every dollar from us viewers. I had stopped watching the movies after the massive disappointment of movie 4. And had vowed never to watch another sequel in the theatres again. But you know life..is strange.
Now as I write this, the reviews of this new movie is polarised - 50-50. And that is so spot on. Some of the sequences in this movie are the silliest, and cheesiest of the entire franchise, much worse that the whole weaponizing-the-dinos bit. But some other sequences in this movie are the stuff of horror, easily the scariest bits of all the Jurassic movies so far. Its as if the movie was directed by two completely different people. But the bits I liked the most are parts where they clearly went back to Michael Crichton's original two novels for inspiration, and ..uhh..found a way to bring back that charm.
Like the whole T-Rex river sequence - my favourite part of Rebirth.. That whole plot point is from the first Jurassic Park novel. In the book Alan Grant and the two kids find a way back to the main complex. We are an inflatable boat on a river for hidden tunnels through a waterfall. (Fun fact: in the first novel, Lex is a 4 year old little girl crazy about baseball, and always carries a pitchers glove. Tim is older, an nerdier elder brother, protective of his little sister; they switched it around for the first movie. ) . To make this work in this movie story had to create an entire new family of father and two daughters and a straggler boyfriend. And they have re-created that sequence exactly as mentioned in the book. And it works, it really works. Then entire theatre watch completely silent for the entire seven minutes sequence.
And the whole supermarket mutadon sequence was clearly a callback to the kitchen sequence of the first movie.
But right in the opening minutes, they have copied a plot point from the second Jurassic Park novel. The secret facility is shown undone by a chocolate wrapper. In the book "The lost world" a character attracts velociraptors because they dropped candy wrappers.
And cue in the wonder - the inspiring , iconic music of the first movie returns in all its glory. But the sequence on which it is shot is just director Gareth Edwards copying off his first monster movie - two huge creatures embracing each other.
And red flares. Lots and lots of red flares.
If this movie works it entirely because they've gone back to their roots. There is something scary about bunch of humans visiting a monster infested island. Like King-kong, like the anaconda movies, even those alien predator movies - a bunch of silly humans in the territory of bad animals is just the recipe of a summer movie. But I am surprised that it took the studio so long to realise this and come to their senses. There is no place for logic in it, and is best enjoyed with that part of your brain turned off. And in a theatre with a huge screen.
Crichton had a genius idea. And Spielberg gave it wings. But everyone else is just making things worse with every sequel.