What happens when you put a group of second-rate filmmakers together on an island, give them an enormous budget, and provide them with one of the most valuable film franchises of all time? You realise just how brilliant Steven Spielberg is.
"Jurassic Park III" is simply a pointless movie that never should have been made. The film simply reeks of a cheap sequel. The basic plot tells of a couple who tricks Dr. Alan Grant to take them into Jurassic Park after their son is lost on the island while parasailing. Predictably, all hell breaks loose as the dinosaurs continue to wreak havoc. Unfortunately, in all of this havoc there is not a single moment of decent dialogue, acting, directing, or special effects. The filmmakers seem to have interpreted the original "Jurassic Park" as a horror film, and treat this movie as such. Characters die in a timely and organised fashion, characters attempt to separate in order to be "more effective," and so forth. The original "Jurassic Park" was not a horror film, and this movie should not have been treated as such.
I doubt that many people had high expectations for "Jurassic Park III" as a good film. Most probably thought the movie would simply be an enjoyable escape for an hour and a half with great special effects and a few memorable scenes. Yet somehow, even with a budget of approximately ninety million dollars, the movie's special effects were terrible. In the opening scene, I heard a kid behind me who couldn't have been older than eight turn to his mom and say "Mommy, that looks so fake." If the special effects couldn't even make a child believe, how are they supposed to convince the rest of the public? Another huge weakness in this movie is the timing. One thing that made the original "Jurassic Park" great was the memorable scenes. I can instantly recall great scenes from the movie, such as the T-Rex chasing the Jeep at night, the young boy climbing the electric fence and getting electrocuted, and so forth. "Jurassic Park III" doesn't have any sense of timing, and as a result the film just feels like a bunch of scenes that bleed into each other without any rhyme or reason. A few moments in the movie could have actually been memorable scenes had they been timed correctly, but instead they are easily discarded and thought of as a joke. The lack of special effects and memorable scenes kills the possibility of "Jurassic Park III" even being an enjoyable excursion.
Yet through all the bad acting, poor writing, and mindless directing, the biggest weakness in the film is not as obvious. The filmmakers failed to realise what the original "Jurassic Park" was about. It was not simply a horror or action film in which the protagonists ran away from scary beasts. The film was an examination of man's role in nature and of how we view ourselves as the mighty rulers of the universe. While there were exciting chase scenes and great special effects, those were not the theme of the film. "Jurassic Park III" forgets all of this, and even occasionally mocks these themes in the original. If you took these themes away from the original film, all you would have had left would be a hollow horror film with great special effects. "Jurassic Park III" is simply a hollow horror film with mediocre special effects. "Jurassic Park" is a story about man; "Jurassic Park III" is a story about dinosaurs. That is the primary difference between the two films.
One would have thought that with the budget and the resources the filmmakers had, they could have produced a better movie than "Jurassic Park III." Instead, the movie is a reminder of "Jaws," another amazing Spielberg film that had sequels made by different directors that were subsequently mindless waste. While "Jurassic Park II" was not a great film by any means, it at least understood the original and tried to carry on it's themes. "Jurassic Park III" does none of that, and as a result is simply rubbish that should definitely be avoided.
"Jurassic Park III" is simply a pointless movie that never should have been made. The film simply reeks of a cheap sequel. The basic plot tells of a couple who tricks Dr. Alan Grant to take them into Jurassic Park after their son is lost on the island while parasailing. Predictably, all hell breaks loose as the dinosaurs continue to wreak havoc. Unfortunately, in all of this havoc there is not a single moment of decent dialogue, acting, directing, or special effects. The filmmakers seem to have interpreted the original "Jurassic Park" as a horror film, and treat this movie as such. Characters die in a timely and organised fashion, characters attempt to separate in order to be "more effective," and so forth. The original "Jurassic Park" was not a horror film, and this movie should not have been treated as such.
I doubt that many people had high expectations for "Jurassic Park III" as a good film. Most probably thought the movie would simply be an enjoyable escape for an hour and a half with great special effects and a few memorable scenes. Yet somehow, even with a budget of approximately ninety million dollars, the movie's special effects were terrible. In the opening scene, I heard a kid behind me who couldn't have been older than eight turn to his mom and say "Mommy, that looks so fake." If the special effects couldn't even make a child believe, how are they supposed to convince the rest of the public? Another huge weakness in this movie is the timing. One thing that made the original "Jurassic Park" great was the memorable scenes. I can instantly recall great scenes from the movie, such as the T-Rex chasing the Jeep at night, the young boy climbing the electric fence and getting electrocuted, and so forth. "Jurassic Park III" doesn't have any sense of timing, and as a result the film just feels like a bunch of scenes that bleed into each other without any rhyme or reason. A few moments in the movie could have actually been memorable scenes had they been timed correctly, but instead they are easily discarded and thought of as a joke. The lack of special effects and memorable scenes kills the possibility of "Jurassic Park III" even being an enjoyable excursion.
Yet through all the bad acting, poor writing, and mindless directing, the biggest weakness in the film is not as obvious. The filmmakers failed to realise what the original "Jurassic Park" was about. It was not simply a horror or action film in which the protagonists ran away from scary beasts. The film was an examination of man's role in nature and of how we view ourselves as the mighty rulers of the universe. While there were exciting chase scenes and great special effects, those were not the theme of the film. "Jurassic Park III" forgets all of this, and even occasionally mocks these themes in the original. If you took these themes away from the original film, all you would have had left would be a hollow horror film with great special effects. "Jurassic Park III" is simply a hollow horror film with mediocre special effects. "Jurassic Park" is a story about man; "Jurassic Park III" is a story about dinosaurs. That is the primary difference between the two films.
One would have thought that with the budget and the resources the filmmakers had, they could have produced a better movie than "Jurassic Park III." Instead, the movie is a reminder of "Jaws," another amazing Spielberg film that had sequels made by different directors that were subsequently mindless waste. While "Jurassic Park II" was not a great film by any means, it at least understood the original and tried to carry on it's themes. "Jurassic Park III" does none of that, and as a result is simply rubbish that should definitely be avoided.