JURASSIC WORLD'S problems

[Lynx]

While chatting in http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=9669.msg302737#msg302737, I noticed JW popped up a lot with the topic of raptors and other issues. I decided with all of its... rather abundant problems and complaints this movie received, it'd be nice to discuss them in its own little topic.

[Reuben03]

where on earth do we start.

its honestly unforgivable how they don't request for the latest info for each dinosaur design, like the old movies did.

pretty sure they read through like, 30 papers? to design the t rex?

what went wrong.

[Bread]

There should be a topic for JW problems, in my opinion, there's more than enough to make its own thread for.

id love this haha i

Was just about to do the same, thank you @Lynx

Just a few of my opinions and nitpicks at this film.
-I enjoyed its originality
-the idea and reality of the park actually up and running was my favorite part of the movie
-the Indominus rex was actually pretty cool and worked for this movie, although little did I know this would be a continuous thing for the franchise of introducing hybrids (which i dislike)
-Unappealing characters

There is more but I rather see what others post and most likely I would agree with their input, I prefer all original three Jurassic Park movies to the JW franchise, no doubt.

[Duck]

The major issue for me with that movie, and the same with all the other JW movies, was the fact that the dinosaurs were portrayed as monsters, not animals.
"Oh well the raptors are definitely portrayed as animals because Owen trains them to help him!" Yeah, no, the raptors turned evil halfway into the movie and killed half of an entire Ingen strike force.
This concludes my rant.

[Lynx]

Here are my nitpicks and complaints:
- They could have chosen any hybrid- and yet they chose I-Rex, the most boring and cliche creature to ever roam the earth. I'm not sure if y'all have seen #chooseabetterhybrid(therapod), but there are quite a few ideas that would have also been easy to implement while still being badass.

- If they are going to completely change up the raptor designs, at least take a step forward and give them some form of feathering

- I would have LOVED if they brought back a character from the last movie, (which is why I prefer JWII over this movie) like one of the kids from JP, though they'd likely want to never touch grass after that previous experience 

- They were doing alright with the creatures being animals at the start, but then they decided halfway through to turn them into monsters because a hybrid they never met said so. Come on, realistically they'd probably not listen to a creature they just met.

- I liked that JW changed up the plot a bit and made the park actually up and running. However, I would have preferred if it stayed that way- but hey, what would be a more exciting movie?

- I liked Owen's character despite him being a bit of a garry sue in this and the next film

[GojiraGuy1954]

Here are my nitpicks and complaints:
- They could have chosen any hybrid- and yet they chose I-Rex, the most boring and cliche creature to ever roam the earth. I'm not sure if y'all have seen #chooseabetterhybrid(therapod), but there are quite a few ideas that would have also been easy to implement while still being badass.

- If they are going to completely change up the raptor designs, at least take a step forward and give them some form of feathering

- I would have LOVED if they brought back a character from the last movie, (which is why I prefer JWII over this movie) like one of the kids from JP, though they'd likely want to never touch grass after that previous experience 

- They were doing alright with the creatures being animals at the start, but then they decided halfway through to turn them into monsters because a hybrid they never met said so. Come on, realistically they'd probably not listen to a creature they just met.

- I liked that JW changed up the plot a bit and made the park actually up and running. However, I would have preferred if it stayed that way- but hey, what would be a more exciting movie?

- I liked Owen's character despite him being a bit of a garry sue in this and the next film

#buildabetterfaketheropod was cringe

It had some really good talent behind it, but literally nobody made a hybrid that could actually feasibly play the role of the Indominus in Jurassic World

[Takama]

I only hated Jurassic World when it came out, Mainly due for its introduction of the Hybrids, when there are so many dinosaurs they could of been used in the role.  (And as a result it lead to a whole Generation of Kids thinking that such a Abomination was a Real dinosaur.)

But My hatred has softend over the years, but I argue JW:FK is FAR FAR WORSE then this film ever was. and I Prefer JP3 over it

[MLMjp]

Alright, I said it and I will say it again, despite having issues, I still love JW and it gave one of the best experiences I ever had on a theater. I liked the Indominus, the open park set up, most of the characters were fine, and of course the final battle and ending...Literally had a geek org*sm.

My complaints would be:

• The blue color grading and how grey the dinosaur look, like, the only "vivid colors" we cant truly appreciate are the Parasaurolophus, the Stegosaurus plates and the Raptors in day time. Come on! Fallen Kingdom improved on that thankfully, but not in other areas unfortunately...
• Claire leaving the paddock and then calling the control center to check if the indominus was there meanwhile Owen and the other workers going inside the paddock. Why not just call the center before doing anything? When the Indominus scared it was cool but the set up was dumb.
• Zach Michel, you have such a cute girlfriend and yet you only think about other chicks while you are in a park full of DINOSAURS? Dude, whats your deal! Thankfully his character gets better while the movie progresses as he bonds with his brother. But like, his character setup makes him rather unlikeble. Would have been better if instead of getting horny over other girls he just was annoyed because he couldn't be with his girlfriend but slowly warming up and enjoying his time in the park.
• Hosking is such a stereotypical villan, although Vincent D'Onofrio acting makes him just believable enough.
• Lack of animatronics. The Indominus and the Velociraptors had scenes were they could have used animatronics.

Smaller nitpicks:

• I wished they kept the old design for Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus and Pteranodon (JP3 ones). I don't mind the new ones though. I don't mind the new raptor designs unlike a lot of people.
• Owen has no real character development, but his charisma makes it up for it.
• Certain dumb decisions and over the top moments, too lazy to write them all.

#buildabetterfaketheropod was cringe
It had some really good talent behind it, but literally nobody made a hybrid that could actually feasibly play the role of the Indominus in Jurassic World

I wouldn't say it was cringe. I do agree on your second statement

[HD-man]

#buildabetterfaketheropod was cringe
It had some really good talent behind it, but literally nobody made a hybrid that could actually feasibly play the role of the Indominus in Jurassic World

I wouldn't say it was cringe. I do agree on your second statement

That's more a problem w/how "the role of the Indominus in Jurassic World" is written In other words: JW had a potentially good idea that was very poorly executed; The #BuildaBetterFakeTheropod artists showed how it could've been better w/better execution.

I discuss many of my problems w/the JW movies in "My favorite aspects of Camp Cretaceous" (which includes links to reviews that discuss my other problems): http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=9658.0

[Reuben03]

#buildabetterfaketheropod was cringe

It had some really good talent behind it, but literally nobody made a hybrid that could actually feasibly play the role of the Indominus in Jurassic World

only because most of them were so clever, striking and well designed that we couldn't imagine them in a Jurassic World Context, where everything must be blue-grey, dull and significantly worse than anything before it.

[Bread]

I actually think the design of the Indominus was perfect. Not too outlandish as compared to Fallen Kingdom's Indo Raptor; although I do agree that there was soo many bad decision characters made to "unintentionally" release the hybrid.

[Reuben03]

I actually think the design of the Indominus was perfect. Not too outlandish as compared to Fallen Kingdom's Indo Raptor; although I do agree that there was soo many bad decision characters made to "unintentionally" release the hybrid.

ugh i hate the indoraptor yeah. the I rex wasn't the worst, but the indoraptor was abysmal.

[stargatedalek]

I admit it, Indominus grew on me. I was initially among the people saying it was boring but I've changed my tune on that. I like the Indoraptor too, though mostly for it's design, it's characterization was not done very well at all.

It does feel weird that Indominus can just speak raptor, even if she is part raptor. This film really needed another quick 30 second scene earlier with Indominus in her paddock looking into the distance while you can hear the raptors in the background, and you think nothing of it at the time because it then immediately cuts to a raptor scene.

I've talked about my issues with this movie before, so I will link that again here rather than try to write it out again.

https://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=4894.msg210847#msg210847

I've already went over my two major concerns with Jurassic World, Claire's character arc and Owens generally unlikable personality, but these and others are worth covering in more depth.

We all know by now the intended character arc for Claire was to represent her overdoing herself and putting all of her effort into her work, and then the repercussions of this force her to reconnect with nature and her own humanity. The idea is supposed to be that we should all take breaks from what we do to experience what we love. Unfortunately what was presented was a successful career woman being incapable of what her male predecessors were and in trying to emulate them she destroyed her empire and was forced to rely on a male romance interest to protect her while arbitrarily developing a maternal bond with the nearest children. And no, them being her nephews does not make it less arbitrary, it's clearly established she barely even knows them.

Owen is just, kind of a jerk? He's incredibly full of himself and extremely boastful bordering on actively rude. And he doesn't get any sort of character arc to address or explain this. If any other actor besides Chris Pratt were playing him he would be completely unlikable (not unlike Malcolm and Goldblum, if I may say so). Who is Owen in Jurassic World? He's either "angry Starlord" or "the raptor guy", take your pick.

I get it, Jurassic movies are supposed to have kids in them, because reasons, but the brothers in Jurassic World felt like they genuinely dragged down the experience. The two actors play off of each other very well but that just isn't enough. Their character arcs were simplistic and contained between the two of them, with their influence on the main arc of the film (Claire's character arc) being entirely unneeded and arguably detrimental to the films message and to Claire as a character.

Lowery and Vivian weren't "bad", but I just find the whole "will they won't they" thing is a really overused way to develop character relationships, and one could argue they were already doing that for Claire and Owen. Masrani and Barry I felt were pretty good, but be honest you didn't even remember Barry's name. And his name is Barry. That should not be a hard name to remember. Jurassic World overall just gave very little time to it's interesting supporting characters in favour of it's rather large main cast which only split the time yet further.

The real breakout stars of Jurassic World however, are Blue, the Indominus rex, and Isla Nublar. Jurassic World continued Three's trend of thinking of the dinosaurs as characters and took it in a very logical direction with a dinosaur as a supporting protagonist and a dinosaur antagonist with actual motives and story.

And when I say Isla Nublar was a star I mean it. I normally don't get much out of nostalgia pandering (or soft reboots for that matter), but I acknowledge it can be done well. And for all of Jurassic Worlds faults it used nostalgia very effectively, the visuals of the park are absolutely wonderful and seeing all of the functional exhibits really brings Jurassic Park to life in a way the earlier films weren't in a position to do.

[Faelrin]

I liked the Indominus from the start, and still do. Aside from Rudy from Ice Age 3, most dinosaurs aren't typically portrayed as being all white (not albino per se), and while this is a fictional hybrid I don't find the design too implausible (unlike the Indoraptor), and it was a fresh breath of air at the time. I do wonder how different the final film would have been had it been about a new (fictional) undiscovered dinosaur cloned, as that had great plot potential.

I think my biggest issue was with the blue filter, some of the poor writing (which carried over into FK and I fear will carry over into Dominion as well). I'm also not a fan of them animating the herbivorous dinosaurs as if they were large mammals, and the step backwards from the 90's designs (such as tail dragging Stegosaurus) as there was no indication that they were supposed to be more retro-like for example, compared to how ahead of the time the Stegosaurus was depicted in TLW for example. There's so many anatomical and size differences that mammals are just not good reference material. I will say the Nasutoceratops in BaBR was a step up from those though (and also a step up from FK's "Sinoceratops"). I'm also not a fan of the head shape change with the JW raptors. Why couldn't they just go back to the tried and true JP and TLW raptors head shapes if not use a more modern restoration of Deinonychus skull? On the other hand I do like their distinctive coloring, particularly Blue and Charlie's. The lack of animatronics disappointed me, as I absolutely adored the Stan Winston Studio's effects work. I am glad they improved that with FK going forward however.

Focusing on the positives though, I did love seeing the park in all its (modern) glory, and the Dr. Wu + Masrani scene was at least a good callback to the novels and acknowledge why the designs have not progressed (at least some will be in Dominion, even if it is the bare minimum). I also liked the inclusion of the Apatosaurus as it is such an iconic sauropod, and of course the introduction of the first marine reptile to the franchise, the oversized Mosasaurus, much like WWD's Liopleurodon, was fun to see. While not necessary I also liked the new coloration update for the Parasaurolophus. I only wish it got more screen time.

Some mild Dominion spoiler stuff:

Spoiler

Though looks like it might have tough competition based on that Dominion new design though. Hope to have both in JWE2 (and Mattel toys).

[close]

[GojiraGuy1954]

I think the JW hybrids are for the most part too plausible design-wise lol

go all out with it if youre gonna fuse two dinos together

[tinyvinyldinos]

I think the JW hybrids are for the most part too plausible design-wise lol

go all out with it if youre gonna fuse two dinos together

I would get so weird with things if I was putting in dna to build a possible dinosaur, I think if I had no limitations I would just go buckwild. Irritator gets loon-style vocalizations because I think that would be appropriate for the dinosaur literally called Irritator. Spinosaurus now gets siamese crocodile parental behaviors (both maternal and paternal care, but also the hilarious report regarding someone just hucking an alligator hatchling in with the siamese crocodile hatchlings and both parents going "oh dang we must have misplaced this entire child" and treating it like the rest of the brood). I think Baryonyx should scratch its back against trees and fences like a bear and that's the problem of everyone else at the park now.

[need4swede]

If I had to choose one word to describe the current state of the series, it's this: comical

I don't necessarily mean that to be an insult - but I can't help but to interpret these movies as anything other than comedies.
I genuinely laughed out loud during the scene that had two children trapped inside of a transparent hamster toy, being kicked around like a soccer ball by the Indominus rex. It's like something straight out of a Japanese game show or something - the imagery is hilarious to me.

The in-your-face product placements in the film are equally as funny. If I recall, there's a line where one of the kids says something like "Wanna see something really cool?", and the next frame is a shot of a brand new Mercedes SUV. There's quite a few setups just like that throughout the film and they're so on the nose that I can't help but to laugh at it, or at least roll my eyes. I know the originals had advertising, like the Jeeps, but the creative genius of the designers and filmmakers is what made those Jeeps iconic, whereas that Mercedes will be forgotten and won't ever be remembered for its role in these films.

And that's just it - everything in these movies feels like 'means to an end'. Nothing feels organic. I don't believe these are real people - they don't act like real people, communicate like real people, etc. Say what you want about the inaccuracies of the Dinosaurs in the original JP, but the humans were very human. Did they splice some frog DNA into the characters, too?

The new movies feel like Saturday morning cartoons to me. Perhaps that's exactly the sort of tone they were aiming for (the motorcycle shot next to the raptors comes to mind). That's what I mean by comical - it's like a comic book. Everything is really over the top - from the people to the genetically engineered dino-monsters. This may be your cup of tea, but in my case - it just makes me laugh.