Jurassic World

Late last night (early this morning?) I went to the first screening of Jurassic World.  I loved Jurassic Park but I hated The Lost World so much that I didn't even see the third installment.  This latest addition to the franchise had me intrigued and you know how much I enjoy late night screenings (especially during the summer when I don't have to get up several hours later to go to school).  Twenty years after the incident on Isla Nublar, the dinosaur theme park is a success but profits are slowing down because the public is no longer awe-struck by the dinosaurs.  The owner of the park (Irrfan Khan) wants a dinosaur that is bigger, faster, and scarier to impress the public so Dr. Wu (B.D. Wong) genetically engineers the Indominus Rex.  Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), the director of operations at the park, invites her nephews Zach and Gray (Nick Robinson and Ty Simkins, respectively) for a weekend at the park but doesn't have time for them and they eventually take off on their own.  The owner of the park is concerned about the safety of the Indominus Rex's enclosure and asks Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), a Velociraptor expert, to inspect it.  Grady is horrified because the genetically modified dinosaur is an unknown factor and its behavior can't be predicted.  As expected, the Indominus Rex escapes and goes after Zach and Gray.  Eventually, the head of security (Vincent D'Onofrio), who wants to militarize the dinosaurs, sends the Velociraptors to attack and an epic battle ensues!  This movie is pretty good, definitely much better than its two predecessors if not as magical as the first one.  The special effects involving the dinosaurs are incredible and the chase scenes are foreboding and menacing.  There were times when the crowd in the theater gasped in unison and that was a lot of fun.  This movie explores quite a few interesting themes such as corporate greed, the ethics of science (just because we can do somethings doesn't mean we should), and the humane treatment of animals.  There is a particularly touching scene where Claire, who thinks of the dinosaurs as "assets," watches one of them die.  Pratt and Howard give good performances, but I felt that their romance was a little bit contrived and I thought it was beyond ridiculous that Claire runs through the jungle in high heels (Grady refers to her shoes as "ridiculous").  The real stars of the show are the dinosaurs and they make this movie worth seeing.