Review of Jurassic Park III (2001) by Russell G — 12 Sep 2016

No third book? No problem, dinosaurs are still fun to watch. Brining Sam Neill back and having him guide a group of parents looking for their lost son works well enough. These movies have always been about the thrills more than the characters.

The Lost World fought that and pandered too strongly to children, but this movie finds a reasonable balance. Early in the movie Dr. Grant from the first film remerges and needing money to continue his research.

A newlywed couple wanting a guided air tour of the island bribes him into returning to the place that still gives him nightmares. The unimpressive story just serves as a lose framework to get people back onto the island of dinosaurs.

The couple played by William H Macy and Tia Leoni feel forced. They are both good actors, but most of the time they just to run and scream. The special effects improve once again. Computer graphics made an enormous leap since the second movie, and it shows here.

The motions of the animals are smooth and more bird-like, reflecting the evolving theories of the extinct animals. This movie features exciting airborne dinosaurs that are the best part of the movie. It introduces the Spinosaurus, which was an even larger predatorily dinosaur with more teeth than the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

I wish more informative tidbits wove into the dialogue like the first movie, but these new creatures emerge without much time for explanation. Having the paleontology leader of the group sprinkle in more theories and information along the way makes the creatures more impressive.

At least they do this some with Dr. Grant's fascination of how Raptors might have communicated with each other, but I want more of this. It is enjoyable entertainment, despite its lack of depth.