Jurassic World (2015)
The premise: The Masrani Global Corporation is now in possession of Isla Nublar – the site of all the events that unfolded during Jurassic Park in 1993. The intervening 22 years has seen the company achieve the vision of John Hammond, and create a fully functioning, state-of-the-art, dinosaur theme park. Concerned by falling tourist numbers, Masrani has concluded that visitors are no longer impressed by the dinosaurs being recreated in the park, and proceeds to manufacture a hybrid creature to bring in new crowds. Under the direction of the Park Operations Manager, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), the resort unveils its newest asset – much to the chagrin of the resident Dinosaur Behavioural Researcher, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and, eventually, Head of Park Security, Vic Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio). Things go spectacularly awry during the weekend that the nephews of Claire Dearing – Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson) – decide to visit their Aunt.
The groundbreaking stuff: In terms of the franchise, the premise of this new film is groundbreaking in that it basically relegates The Lost World and Jurassic Park III to the level of spin-off, rather than sequel, given that they are set on Isla Sorna. Jurassic World is the first film to return us to Isla Nublar, where our Jurassic experience began. In addition, it promises to introduce a number of previously unseen dinosaurs – rendered with all of the impressive advancements in visual effects that the past 22 years have delivered. These come courtesy, once again, of Stan Winston Studios (now Legacy Effects), Phil Tippett and Industrial Light And Magic.
What we hope to see: While this is the biggest project to date for director Colin Trevorrow and his co-writer Derek Connolly (the pair that previously delivered Safety Not Guaranteed), the trailers so far released have demonstrated that these filmmakers are working well within their skill-set. Trevorrow has long discussed his fandom of Jurassic Park, and his desire to truly capture the spirit of the original film – something that is tantalisingly reflected in the film’s premise. By hanging the entire story on the natural tendency of humans to quickly become acclimated to, and then bored by, new developments, Trevorrow and Connolly (using a screenplay by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa as a foundation) seem to have created a story that incorporates the very real relationship that audiences have with the franchise as a whole. Hopefully this idea will translate effectively into the core of the movie.
If that central point is well executed, the chances of this new chapter succeeding are higher than those of its two immediate predecessors, because the story is once again built around a central moral question, rather than a manufactured excuse to get people onto a dinosaur-infested island. The question on everybody’s lips is, have we seen all of the money-shots in the trailer, or has Jurassic World kept its greatest reveals hidden until release? There’s only one way to find out – and that is to return to the park on June 12th 2015.