Amazon.co.uk Review
Surpassing expectations to qualify as an above-average sequel,
Jurassic Park III is nothing more or less than a satisfying popcorn adventure. A little cheesier than the first two Jurassic blockbusters, it's a big B movie with big B-list stars (including Laura Dern, briefly reprising her
Jurassic Park role), and eight years of advancing computer-generated-image technology give it a sharp edge over its predecessors. While adopting the jungle spirit of
King Kong, the movie refines Michael Crichton's original premise, and its dinosaurs are even more realistic, their behavior more detailed, and their variety--including flying pteranodons and a new villain, the spinosaurus--more dazzling and threatening than ever. These advancements justify the sequel, and its contrived plot is just clever enough to span 90 minutes without wearing out its welcome.
Posing as wealthy tourists, an adventurous couple (William H. Macy, Téa Leoni) convince paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and his protégé (Allesandro Nivola) to act as tour guides on a flyover trip to Isla Sorna, the ill-fated "Site B" where all hell broke loose in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. In truth, they're on a search-and-rescue mission to find their missing son (Trevor Morgan), and their plane crash is just the first of several enjoyably suspenseful sequences. Director Joe Johnston (October Sky) embraces the formulaic plot as a series of atmospheric set pieces, placing new and familiar dinosaurs in misty rainforests, fiery lakes, and mysterious valleys, turning JP3 into a thrill ride with impressive highlights (including a T. rex versus spinosaurus smack-down), adequate doses of wry humour (from the cowriters of Election), and an upbeat ending that's corny but appropriate, proving that the symptoms of sequelitis needn't be fatal. --Jeff Shannon
Synopsis
Paleontologist Alan Grant has sworn never to return to Jurassic Park. But he needs funding for his research, so when a wealthy thrill-seeking couple come calling, Grant and his protegee, Billy, agree to take them on a sightseeing flight. By the time Grant finds out what their true purpose is - to land on the island and search for their missing son - all of their lives are in peril. And Grant's newfound theory about Raptor intelligence will have its deadly proof. Joe Johnston was the right director to take over Steven Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park' series. He's experienced with special effects, having worked on the 'Star Wars' films, while his 'October Sky' demonstrates his skill at telling an emotionally involving tale. In 'Jurassic Park 3', with the help of a top-notch technical team and a talented cast (who began filming before the script was finished, improvising much of their dialogue), and a new dinosaur, Spinosaurus, that makes even T-Rex nervous, Johnston has fashioned a rousing adventure with state-of-the-art visuals. Clocking in at a tense 92 minutes, it's the fastest-moving, most action-packed film of the series.
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