Jurassic World (Post-release)

[firesprite]

Talk about sexism. Dozens of guys were absolutely shattered and splattered by the I rex and raptors but nobodies crying about them. One rather striking PA is rather bloodlessly tossed around,then invisibly swallowed whole and its like everybody just lost their bestie!

Waxing a bit hyperbolic here, aren't we? It's a far cry from people saying that death felt like "a bit much" to what you're describing. I DID feel like a bit much. It could have been cut by half and still have had a similar impact. And since you brought it up, I can see how people might feel it was a bit sexist to make the only clear female death that long and drawn out. There was at least one female on the capture team that went after Indominus, but I'm pretty certain she died off-screen.

 

[Riceball]

Waxing a bit hyperbolic here, aren't we? It's a far cry from people saying that death felt like "a bit much" to what you're describing. I DID feel like a bit much. It could have been cut by half and still have had a similar impact. And since you brought it up, I can see how people might feel it was a bit sexist to make the only clear female death that long and drawn out. There was at least one female on the capture team that went after Indominus, but I'm pretty certain she died off-screen.

It's hard to say, they were all dressed the same and the action happened so fast that it's hard to tell who was getting chomped on or tail slapped. The only member of the ACU that we got a good look at dying was the leader when he got bit by 'ol Indy Rex.

Speaking of the ACU, anyone else wonder why they were wearing plate holders? Since their job seems to be taking care of any animals that escape from their enclosures and get them back in, why would they need to wear plate holders? Are they expecting to be shot at or something, because it's not for holding gear because they had nothing attached to all of that MOLLE webbing and I'm not sure how much protection even a ceramic plate is going to offer, AR500 yes, ceramic I'm not so sure. Plus, if it was for protection against the dinos, wouldn't you want your armor to go a little further down your torso to cover the lower part of your belly, and wouldn't it also make sense to have armor on your arms and legs too?

 

[Vivek]

Zookeepers recreate Chris Pratt's moves from Jurassic World | The RPF Pulse

 

[CutThumb]

Waxing a bit hyperbolic here, aren't we? It's a far cry from people saying that death felt like "a bit much" to what you're describing. I DID feel like a bit much. It could have been cut by half and still have had a similar impact. And since you brought it up, I can see how people might feel it was a bit sexist to make the only clear female death that long and drawn out. There was at least one female on the capture team that went after Indominus, but I'm pretty certain she died off-screen.

"Hyperbolic" is exactly the word to describe "Jurassic World" and if you took my post that seriously you missed the entire point of it. I wonder if you've ever watched "Jaws". Pity about that long, drawn out and utterly terrifying death of a swimmer at the beginning. I bet if she'd just been pulled under the once with barely a ripple, that would have really impressed the audience. As soon as the PA went into the water everybody knew what was coming, except it didn't, they deliberately drew it out with the pterosaurs so eventually, when it looked like she'd escaped that particularly grizzly fate in the pool, the "Jaws" moment arrived. Its called "showmanship" and everyone in the cinema seemed to either laugh or gasp when it happened, it was so OTT. It was designed to be shocking!!! I think that if it had been just a bloke nobody would have said a word, because literally dozens of them had already died in the film already. One female guard killed? That's your defence? That puts the ratio of female to male deaths at about 2: 40 + .

 

[Westies14]

This isn't meant to be snarky; genuine question: Were any of us complaining about that particular death taking issue with the victim's gender? My complaints are its self-indulgence, force-sensitive precognitive animals with no motivation, and the total abandonment of real-world physics in order to accomplish a scene that didn't improve the film.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

I dunno. Most of my friends liked the scene, was certainly entertaining. Whether folks liked it or not we're talking about it so it worked.

But I agree, gender had nothing to do with it. If the irresponsible guardian had been a guy I'm sure there would be a similar reaction. The death was over the top for the "crime".

But still fun. :lol

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk 2

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Actually, when I look back at all four films there's only one death that was REALLY too much and the person didn't deserve it at all.

WAY too much for someone with no fault in the film. That one sticks with me as out of place more than the PA getting eaten by Shamu.

 

[allosaur176]

My only issues were really only the animals escaping the aviary and immediately attacking everyone, and the I-Rex's jaw's being on the widest hinge ever,

The I-Rex had dna from a snake, hence the jaw being able to open as wide as it did, and the Pteranodons probably followed the scent of food right to the center of the park.

 

[CutThumb]

Actually, when I look back at all four films there's only one death that was REALLY too much and the person didn't deserve it at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ2kxdQf3t0

WAY too much for someone with no fault in the film. That one sticks with me as out of place more than the PA getting eaten by Shamu.

That's exactly the point and scene I talked about six posts back. I felt the PA was used to simply play up the "Jaws" and "One Million Years BC " angle. It wouldn't have played as well or seemed as horrible gruesomei f it had been just some male tourist. Making it her was a smart move because ALOT of the audience would identify with her.

Westie, I read your lengthy review with some interest and your points, and well I wouldn't disagree with many of them but I am curious as to what kind of a film you wanted from JW. How different would you have handled it roughly?

 

[Westies14]

Westie, I read your lengthy review with some interest and your points, and well I wouldn't disagree with many of them but I am curious as to what kind of a film you wanted from JW. How different would you have handled it roughly?

I'm from the "less is more" school of thought. Being meta (the movie plots echo the filmmaker's journey and relate to CGI as a tool etc) is incredibly uninteresting to me - give me a solid story with consistent, well-written and well-considered characters (both human and dinosaur) any day. You read the long form version of why all of that stuff didn't work for me, so I won't bore you with all of it again. But if I'd been given control of one later in the series? I'd probably aim for a character-driven shipwreck movie, with a small group of survivors coming ashore and following some sort of surprising infrastructure inland. Maybe they discover a skeleton crew from InGen working in the compound illegally, perhaps extracting or continuing to develop the expired programs illegally. That could provide an opportunity for some sort of dino expertise from one of the characters. I'd allow the dinosaurs themselves to return to their animalistic motives and sensibilities. No "killing everything for the sake of killing" monsters, no Raptor buddies. Maybe they even refrain from crashing in every roof, or they'll even stop attacking if they've eaten or the prey proves too elusive. Without even getting into practical vs CG, I'd show the animals in a grounded, impressive way - not flying a camera into their jaws every other shot. But really, the people are key. Give us people we grow to love (or even know, or understand) and show us how they care about one another. That's what makes us care when someone gets hurt or killed. More importantly, that's what makes us anxious when they might be hurt or killed. The human characters are our proxy in the adventure, and the more believable they are the more invested we'll be. The dinosaurs are the wonder, the magic, the threat, and the more believable they are, the more dangerous and real the island will feel.

Those are broad strokes. I'd like to see some restraint on every level, and WAY more thought given to story and characterization. Unlike most blockbuster cheese, I'll buy and watch Jurassic World several times over. Dinosaurs have that kind of appeal for me, that I'll watch them in a bad movie. Bad movie, though.

 

[Westies14]

Devin makes a lot of the points I made on page 1, but adds some important other ones to the mix. I agree with this review wholeheartedly:

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2015/06/10/jurassic-world-review-the-park-should-have-stayed-closed

 

[Riceball]

I'm from the "less is more" school of thought. Being meta (the movie plots echo the filmmaker's journey and relate to CGI as a tool etc) is incredibly uninteresting to me - give me a solid story with consistent, well-written and well-considered characters (both human and dinosaur) any day. You read the long form version of why all of that stuff didn't work for me, so I won't bore you with all of it again. But if I'd been given control of one later in the series? I'd probably aim for a character-driven shipwreck movie, with a small group of survivors coming ashore and following some sort of surprising infrastructure inland. Maybe they discover a skeleton crew from InGen working in the compound illegally, perhaps extracting or continuing to develop the expired programs illegally. That could provide an opportunity for some sort of dino expertise from one of the characters. I'd allow the dinosaurs themselves to return to their animalistic motives and sensibilities. No "killing everything for the sake of killing" monsters, no Raptor buddies. Maybe they even refrain from crashing in every roof, or they'll even stop attacking if they've eaten or the prey proves too elusive. Without even getting into practical vs CG, I'd show the animals in a grounded, impressive way - not flying a camera into their jaws every other shot. But really, the people are key. Give us people we grow to love (or even know, or understand) and show us how they care about one another. That's what makes us care when someone gets hurt or killed. More importantly, that's what makes us anxious when they might be hurt or killed. The human characters are our proxy in the adventure, and the more believable they are the more invested we'll be. The dinosaurs are the wonder, the magic, the threat, and the more believable they are, the more dangerous and real the island will feel.

Those are broad strokes. I'd like to see some restraint on every level, and WAY more thought given to story and characterization. Unlike most blockbuster cheese, I'll buy and watch Jurassic World several times over. Dinosaurs have that kind of appeal for me, that I'll watch them in a bad movie. Bad movie, though.

Not a bad idea except that we got a lot of that in JP3. People stranded on the island and dinos chasing them was pretty much the basic premise of JP3. The only difference is that there was no illegal work being done by Ingen on the island.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

I think JW actually showed a lot of restraint compared to what it could be. Most actual deaths were off screen just showing us the aftermath/result.

I liken JP to Alien and JW to Aliens. First one was a horror movie, second was an action flick. Both good for very different reasons.

I will agree that the characters were shallow and underdeveloped. But for what it was it was a fun movie and by no stretch of the imagination outright "bad". I think in modern times we dissect things too much. We've forgotten what a genuinely bad movie is and instead compare every film to the absolute cream of the crop. Terminator 2 has more holes than a block of swiss cheese. Still a great fun film. There are many more films that are held on a pedestal that don't stand up to honest critique but it doesn't matter, if it's an enjoyable experience you can look past it.

Is JW art in the same way that JP was? Hell no. But bad? Nah.

We critique so much we forget to have fun.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Not a bad idea except that we got a lot of that in JP3. People stranded on the island and dinos chasing them was pretty much the basic premise of JP3. The only difference is that there was no illegal work being done by Ingen on the island.

Got a lot of that in JP2 as well. Small group encounters Ingen doing questionable things on the island. Had developed characters and a bud guy who wasn't the dinosaurs. Turned out pretty bad. :lol

 

[Westies14]

Is JW art in the same way that JP was? Hell no. But bad? Nah.

We critique so much we forget to have fun.

Please don't misunderstand me! I'm not a robot! Seeing dinosaurs is always fun for me. Seeing the overgrown remains of the original park is something I've been DYING to see on screen for 22 years and I loved every second of that. Like I said, I'll buy and watch this one! It's just not a good movie in that it doesn't hold up to any critical standard you could throw at it...

- - - Updated - - -

And yes, while we got a bit of those premises in JP2 and 3, neither was really well done or had very believable characters. They both had better dinosaurs than Jurassic World though...

 

[Michael Bergeron]

It's just not a good movie in that it doesn't hold up to any critical standard you could throw at it...

I have but one critical standard: Was it fun enough for me to be able to overlook it's flaws? Yep.

For me it was head and shoulders above any of the superhero movies that people rave about. I thought JW was pretty good, your mileage may vary and ya know what? That's totally cool. :thumbsup

They both had better dinosaurs than Jurassic World though...

On this we disagree. :lol Particularly in JP3 that Spinosaurus looked comical.

 

[Westies14]

I have but one critical standard: Was it fun enough for me to be able to overlook it's flaws? Yep.

For me it was head and shoulders above any of the superhero movies that people rave about. I thought JW was pretty good, your mileage may vary and ya know what? That's totally cool. :thumbsup



On this we disagree. :lol Particularly in JP3 that Spinosaurus looked comical.

I don't disagree with you on any of this! But while the Spinosaurus was unnecessary (how much better would JP3 have been with the T-Rex as the villain? Who was looking for a new "hero" dinosaur?) and a silly-looking design, I think Stan Winston's dinos succeeded in putting a believable creature on camera more often than the digital dinosaurs in any of the films. Even though it's with the Spinosaurus, some shots of that giant robot in the water in the boat scene are terrifying!

Yeah, dinosaur adventures can make it worth sitting down for a movie. But should anyone make one of these and give some real love to the story - just a simple, coherent story with consistent characters who really wanna live and who you want to root for - it'll be another classic.

 

[Riceball]

I don't disagree with you on any of this! But while the Spinosaurus was unnecessary (how much better would JP3 have been with the T-Rex as the villain? Who was looking for a new "hero" dinosaur?) and a silly-looking design, I think Stan Winston's dinos succeeded in putting a believable creature on camera more often than the digital dinosaurs in any of the films. Even though it's with the Spinosaurus, some shots of that giant robot in the water in the boat scene are terrifying!

Yeah, dinosaur adventures can make it worth sitting down for a movie. But should anyone make one of these and give some real love to the story - just a simple, coherent story with consistent characters who really wanna live and who you want to root for - it'll be another classic.

I thought that the digital dinos in all 3 of the movies have been spectacular. The only time that I thought that they didn't look that great was the stegosaur scene from JP2 and I thought that was more due to bad comping than bad CG dinos. To me, that's always been ILM's weak point, they produce incredibly realistic looking 3D models which are then poorly comped into live action scenes.

 

[MooCriket]

I think it was Horner who pushed and convinced them to add the Spinosauraus as the big baddie in JP3. Happy there was no repeat of that in JP4. I did like the Irex a lot more than I expected. One thing has remained true with each film...the Raptors are bad ***!

 

[firesprite]

I think it was Horner who pushed and convinced them to add the Spinosauraus as the big baddie in JP3. Happy there was no repeat of that in JP4. I did like the Irex a lot more than I expected. One thing has remained true with each film...the Raptors are bad ***!

I may have cheered when the T-Rex came crashing through the Spinosaurus skeleton to get to IRex.