Movie Review: Jurassic Park III

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Fun movie with good action

Cons: Dinosaurs don't make sense if you think about it

The Bottom Line: 

Plenty more action

But average overall

Mindless movie fun

"On This Island, There is No Such Thing as Safe."

The number one rule in Hollywood is, "If it makes money, make sequels until the money dries up."  As so we get Jurassic Park III.  While it is better than the first sequel in many ways, it does have problems all its own.

Our focus this time is on survivor of the first one Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill).  He's quite content to stick to studying dinosaurs via their bones after his near brush with death.  But then Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni) come and offer him major money if he will guide them in an airplane trip over Isla Sorna, the second island InGen used to actually breed the dinosaurs.

What Dr. Grant doesn't realize is that they intend to land on the island because their son Erik (Trevor Morgan) is missing on the island.  When their plane is destroyed, they must find a way to survive long enough to get rescued.  Can they find Erik and escape?  Or are they now dinofood?

There is a part of me that likes this film.  As it progresses, the action scenes get better and better.  They introduce Spinosaurs and Pterosaurs, and it's cool to have the major scenes feature different dinosaurs for a change.  Heck, T-Rex is reduced to a cameo here.

The plot is fine for a Jurassic Park plot.  I mean, really, it's just an excuse to see dinosaurs chase and eat people.  That's really all either of the first two were.  Admittedly, this has the weakest premise for getting people to the island, but I'm willing to buy it.

Let's face it, the characters are just props to get killed in these movies, and that's the case for many of them here.  We do get to know a few of them better, although their character arcs are rather predictable.  The actors do a decent job with the script they have.  The acting isn't award worthy, but it works.  Speaking of characters, Laura Dern's Dr. Ellie Sattler makes a brief cameo in the film.  Even though it's a small part, they make her character an important part of the story.

The real star here is the special effects and the dinosaurs they create.  And here the movie shines.  As with the first two, I buy the mix of computer and traditional effects and brings these long dead monsters to life.

So far, it sounds like I like this movie, right?  Well, I do have some problems with it.  After two movies, one of which was on this island, how can we have new species of dinosaurs pop up?  I know the characters in the second movie didn't go everywhere, but it seems like they would have noticed the Spinosaur since he was everywhere.  The Pterosaurs are in an aviary, so the lack of their presence in previous movies makes sense except that we see them flying over the island at the end of the second one.

I know, I know, I'm being too picky.

My other complaint is the Velociraptors.  No, it doesn't bother me that they've changed their look.  But what does bug me is that they have made them much, much smarter.  The intelligence level is not something that can be explained based on what we've seen in the previous movies.  I swear, if they ever make a fourth movie, the Velociraptors will be talking.

But I'm probably over thinking what is basically a modern, high tech monster movie.  Jurassic Park III isn't the best or worst of the trilogy.  It's fun for a mindless monster movie.