“We want to be thrilled,” declares Bryce Dallas Howard’s Claire to a set of interested investors at the beginning of “Jurassic World.” One can easily imagine the very green director Colin Trevorrow, with only the indie charmer “Safety Not Guaranteed” under his belt, making the same kind of pitch to the corporate powers that be at Universal.
In a manner that recalls “22 Jump Street,” many lines at the opening of the film give a winking nod to the entire enterprise of jumpstarting a dormant franchise for a new audience. In the 22 years the original “Jurassic Park” film hit the multiplex, a new style of action filmmaking has obliterated the level of craft in the genre. These blockbusters – think Michael Bay and “Transformers” – operate under the philosophy of bigger, louder, harder, faster, stronger.
These films have become predictable, boring, and numbing. We still marvel at the screen, sure, but we have come to expect the unexpected and see the extraordinary as ordinary. “Jurassic World” invites that childlike sense of awe to rear its head once again after hibernating. And in true Spielberg fashion, we receive the invitation quite literally through the perspective of a child.
The first time Trevorrow gives his audience a peek at the new Jurassic Park, now rebranded as Jurassic World, it comes as the young Gray (Ty Simpkins) pushes his way through the crowd to get to the front of a tramcar. He sees the giant entry gates, and the score by Michael Giacchino swells to the tune John Williams made iconic years ago. In the succession of shots that follows, we see the many amazing dinosaur attractions (along with a plethora of corporate sponsors) and know his wide-eyed wonder is not misplaced.
The visual effects from “Jurassic Park” were impressive at the time, yet they now look a little creaky and dated. I cannot imagine what technological advances could improve the look of the dinosaurs in “Jurassic World,” which exhibit a breathtaking photorealism, though the CGI wizards will undeniably make me eat those words.
Marshall and the Movies 
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