Jurassic World (Film): Critique 3/3

This one looks at the negatives before finishing with a positive conclusion.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Indominus-rex Problems

 

The I-rex clawed out her beacon (something akin to a dog chip with a tracker). This opened a whole can of worms for me. It’s the only problem that sort of ruins the film.

She remembered it being put in. She clawed it out because didn’t want foreign object inside her (most likely). Yet the timing and circumstances makes it look like she clawed it out specifically to lure the guards into a trap.

But there is no way she could know what the beacon was for: she couldn’t know it leads people to her location so she definitely couldn’t have used it as a trap.* Meaning those guards wouldn’t have died in that way. Meaning the plot would have a substantially different feel to it.

*(If she’d been in a large location and people always ended up finding her, then maybe then she could have made the association between tracker and people. But her enclosure was tiny. Plus, the tracker was put in when she was a baby, when she was always surrounded by people, so tracker-leads-people-to-me couldn’t ever be a thought she’d develop. So no, the I-rex simply couldn’t have used the tracker as a trap.)

 

The I-rex can detect heat radiation. How then did it not notice Owen was under the car when it first escaped?

Owen just ran, plus he’s under a stressful situation: both of these produce heat. So the I-rex should have noticed Owen under a stationary car.

However, cars do produce a lot of heat. So maybe its heat covered Owen’s heat signature? If this were the case, the car would be radiating so much heat that Owen would’ve burned, being as close as he was. The only option is that Owen and the cooling-down car were the same heat signature for the car’s heat to hide his heat. Statistically, that’s unlikely.

Furthermore, the I-rex crouched low to the ground right next to the car and Owen. From that perspective, it would have detected Owen via heat radiation no matter the car’s temperature.

So, the I-rex not detecting Owen’s heat under the car doesn’t seem feasible. The I-rex is portrayed as this superior being with major talents, so having anything early on to negate that image harms the filmmakers’ intentions.

 

 

Claire Problems

 

Claire’s clothing had a continuity error. It’s a minor issue in levels of damage but a major issue in terms of noticeability.

Hiding behind the old car in the old garage, Claire has grime on her chest and her once-pristine clothes are dirtied to grey. But when she runs to the aviary, her chest is clean and her clothes are white.

I doubt there was anything around to wipe the grime off (being in a forest and dirty abandoned building, and all). The only other option was her hand, yet that would have left a smear on her chest. Hence her grimeless chest doesn’t make sense.

One could argue her clothes appeared grey in the garage because it was dark. However, dirt is just as much a texture thing as a colour thing. The texture of the shirt definitely changed: leaving the darkness of the garage wouldn’t have accounted for this.

 

Basically, the film tries to make out like Claire is cold and heartless towards the dinosaurs.

Claire calls the dinosaurs ‘assets’ and ‘attractions’. Wondering where the I-rex’s sibling was, Claire said, “She ate it” with a straight face, no trace of emotion. When Masrani asks Claire about the dinosaur’s emotions, Claire struggles to answer. All the time, people remind Claire that dinosaurs are living, breathing creatures.

However, none of the above-mentioned behaviour actually makes Claire cold and heartless. So why the characters think of her that way feels off to me.

Her job is around the finances of the park. She’s literally doing her job so that all these people complaining at her can also have a job. Many people who work with animals keep some sort of emotional distance between themselves and their animals for their own emotional wellbeing. For Claire to do that doesn’t make her heartless.

She’s in charge so of course she doesn’t break down or show emotion when she reveals the I-rex’s sibling was eaten. That’s responsible and professional behaviour. Plus, we see her concern when the sauropods are sliced up (searching for the boys isn’t part of her job description; keeping emotional distance from dinos isn’t the same as emotional distance from nephews).

 

Further, there were three little issues relating to Claire.

The biggest of these small problems came at the end. When the t-rex steps forward, there’s two angles. In both, the audience can see the space behind the foot. In one, there’s nothing there and in another Claire’s there. This is a basic continuity error.

Turns out Claire hasn’t visited the boys in seven years. As Grey is younger than Zach, Grey would’ve changed the most in those seven years. So for Claire to make a deal about how different Zach looks but not Grey does seem odd.

Claire’s hair is made wavy to appear dishevelled. However, it looked like it was styled at a high-end salon. (Obviously it was, considering it’s a Hollywood film. But this is obviously the opposite of what was intended.)

 

 

Other Problems

 

Several problems didn’t impact the plot but they were still noticeable.

The I-rex flips an ankylosaurus upside down, bites its head then twists its neck. Yes, the underside of the ankylosaurus neck isn’t armoured, but the sides are. Not only would this extra stiffness have prevented that twisted motion, but this armour was where the I-rex’s teeth landed, blocking any purchase. So this ankylosaurus kill was poor.

Zach and Grey’s parents having a divorce doesn’t really add anything to the plot. Yes, Grey being sad on the monorail is necessary for the plot. But wishing his parents were here with him, or feeling sad because Claire was avoiding him, would have been more relevant reasons for Grey’s sadness.

The pterosaurs in this film can swim. Yet in Jurassic Park 3, they couldn’t.

When Claire’s assistant is screaming, it sounds exactly the same underwater as it does above. There should at least be some gurgling.

 

The triceratops babies had horns.

Horned animals are usually born/hatched with stubs rather than fully-grown horns. I suppose the geneticists could have modified their genes to make their horns grow earlier/faster.

But when children are climbing/riding the baby dinosaurs, having something as dangerous as horns around kids isn’t a smart move. Masrani definitely has enough money to have the best lawyers: they would have panicked at these horns because danger equals accidents equals lawsuits.

 

 

 

This film was a great way to revitalise the Jurassic Park franchise. The animation, humour, plot and intelligence all came together to produce something rather spectacular.

Jurassic World (Film): Critique 2/3

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Clever

 

The intelligence behind decisions was at full display.

Masrani says, “I never asked for a monster.” Henry points out, “To a canary, a cat is a monster. We’re just used to being the cat.” Wow, deep.

The t-rex and Blue fighting the I-rex together, when in previous films raptors and rexes are enemies, was nice. Then the mosasaur eats and saves them from the I-rex, showing the film’s antagonist isn’t all-powerful after all.

When the mosasaur was fed earlier in the film, its food was a great white shark. These sharks are endangered, meaning they (legally and morally) shouldn’t be hunted. But then again, if scientists can recreate extinct dinosaurs, then revitalising the population of endangered animals definitely wouldn’t be a problem.

References

 

There are a lot of references to the previous films in the Jurassic Park franchise. This could have felt overwhelming. However, these callbacks were mainly to small moments rather than the iconic ones. This meant this film had its own identity rather than getting swallowed by the past.

 

The vast majority of these callbacks were to the first Jurassic Park. As the most successful, iconic and rememberable of the Jurassic Park series, this is hardly a surprising choice.

Grey, Zach’s younger sibling, is super obsessed with dinosaurs. This is just like the younger brother Tim in Jurassic Park.

Visitors at Jurassic World ride a monorail train. In Jurassic Park, the visitors rode in cars on a single electric rail. The upgrade matches Jurassic World’s aesthetic whilst still nodding to the film that started it all.

In the control room, Claire calls one guy’s work station chaotic (just like Dennis’ work station in Jurassic Park). He calls it a ‘living system’. This is a reference to Malcolm is the Jurassic Park films.

The t-rex pen has a goat and a flare, in reference to the t-rex in Jurassic Park.

With Zach driving the old Jurassic Park car, it flies through the old Jurassic Park gates, flinging them open like in the first film.

Two raptors jump on the I-rex’s back. They move in the same manner as Jurassic Park’s raptors on the back of the Jurassic Park t-rex.

There is a sign with a picture and spinning arrow in the exact same style as the first film.

 

The second and third Jurassic Park films did get a look in, though.

When the I-rex has the ankylosaurus on the floor and twists its neck, this is referencing the Spinosaurus and raptors doing this motion and position in Jurassic Park 3.

Grey’s bumbag saved him from getting taken by the I-rex. The second and third Jurassic Park films also had lucky bags that saved people.

Zach and Grey’s parent are getting divorced, just like Eric’s parents in Jurassic Park 3 were divorced.

It’s made to look like the I-rex claws out her tracker to lure people to her: a trap. Just like how raptors used an injured guard as a lure for everyone in Jurassic Park 3.

 

 

Humour

 

This film does word play and funny moments. It’s completely different from Malcolm’s intellectual humour of the original series.

 

There was plenty of situational humour.

The I-rex hand hatches from the egg first. It starts groping around, being both cute and funny.

Near the beginning, a bird’s foot crashing into the snow made me jump and scream in the cinema. Everyone looked at me a laughed. So that scene definitely served its purpose!

The helicopter co-pilot vomits after Masrani flew the chopper. For a professional helicopter pilot to vomit after a helicopter ride shows Masrani must have been a truly terrible pilot.

Owen holds a rat in the air for Blue and has a bulging bicep. You definitely don’t need to bulge your arms when holding something as light as a rat. Nor did he have to hold the rat up for so long before giving it to Blue. Together, these things show they were definitely done just for eye candy.

When the I-rex breaks the hamster ball, the automated tour voice says, “Your safety is our main concern.” Great timing.

 

The greatest source of comedy was in the result of Claire and Owen’s dynamic. There have always been relationships in past Jurassic Park films but in this one the romance is a key element of the plot, rather than being background information. Initially I would have baulked at romance in Jurassic Park (dinosaurs! No people!) Yet this romantic tension was dealt with humour, not seriousness, making it bearable.

Claire, talking about the park, says, “We have an attraction,” (in reference to the I-rex). Owen shoots back with, “That’s not what you said last time.”

Owen asks, “Do you want to consult me here or in my bungalow?”

Claire says Owen controls the raptors. Owen says, “It’s all about control with you. It’s a relationship based on trust and mutual respect.” Even though Claire was talking about the dinosaurs, Owen was definitely having a dig at Claire.

Owen, when talking about dinosaurs, says to Claire, “They need to feed. Hunt. [Makes gesture for sex.] You can relate to at least one of those things.” Saucy!

When Claire asks Owen to track the boys, he says, “I was in the navy, not the Navajo.”

 

The brothers Grey and Zach had funny things said or done to them.

Grey’s mother asks him, “Did you feed the monster under your bed?” before they left for the airport.

Their mum tells them, “If something chases you, run.”

Zach is trying to get away from his girlfriend who’s making this big deal over him leaving. Then his dad tells Zach to hurry up. His parents then tease him about his feelings, even though he couldn’t care less!

Grey asks, “What did you think was gonna happen if you just stare at them?” The girls laugh at Zach and lose interest. Zach, clearly annoyed, says, “Thanks, man,” to which Grey with all seriousness said, “You’re welcome.”

Zach says, “Look, dinosauruses.”

Owen says, “Son of a bitch,” then Grey says, “You shouldn’t say bitch.”

Grey asks, “Can we stay with you?” Claire starts speaking, thinking he meant her. But then the boys panic and point at Owen.

There aren’t seatbelts so Claire tells the boys hold hands. The look on Zach’s face when Grey held his hand out to Zach was priceless.

Jurassic World (Film): Critique 1/3

Zach and Grey visit their aunt Claire at her workplace, Jurassic World. But then the Indominus-rex, the park’s genetically engineered new species, breaks loose to cause havoc on the island.

 

People being upset that the carnivores don’t have feathers is pointless.

Wu said, “Nothing at this park is natural. We have always filled in gaps in the genome with DNA of other animals. And if their DNA was pure, they would look quite different.” Even in the beginning during Jurassic Park, this was explicitly stated.

Besides, the featherless look is what the public now expects from InGen. Why, then, would InGen change their dinosaurs to be feathery now? From an advertising and brand perspective, that would be a bad move. Not to mention the time and money it would take to modify all those genomes.

 

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Indominus-rex Genetic Traits

 

This initial criticism turns out to be a false alarm, making complete sense later on.

Henry Wu looks surprised when Masrani tells him the I-rex can camouflage and modulated its infrared output. He says cuttlefish can camouflage and that cuttlefish DNA was added to help the I-rex cope with an enhanced growth rate. He also says tree frogs modulate their infrared and that tree frog DNA was added to help the I-rex live in a tropical climate

            Now, the camouflage and infrared are well studied. So there’s no way Henry as a geneticist could have added those parts of the DNA to the I-rex without realising it. Hence I was surprised that he was surprised. His surprise was unbelievable.

On another note, it is known that certain traits are linked. For example, Henry points out that you can’t expect predatory characteristics without their associated behaviours. Also, in real life, foxes bred to be domesticated will look like dogs. However, even if the growth genes did also control camouflage (or tropical survival also control infrared), considering the latter of each pair is well studied, Henry would have to know they were linked.

            Later, we discover Henry added these traits deliberately. After all, not only does Hoskins talk to Henry about his side project but Hoskins brags to Claire about how a small I-rex that can hide from advanced tech would be a tactical advantage. So the I-rex having camo and infrared was definitely known to Henry all along.

Therefore, Henry’s surprised response to Masrani was an act. (As such, his ‘surprise’ was believable.) This obvious act foreshadowed just how sly, sneaky and underhand Henry was being with the I-rex.

 

 

Visuals

 

Being a key feature of this film and the franchise in general, the raptors were given special attention.

Each raptor is individually coloured and they have many more teeth than the Jurassic Park raptors. Well, Claire did say visitors wanted more teeth, and the geneticists are clearly capable of modifying genetics, so there’s no reason why these raptors shouldn’t have more teeth than the original raptors in Jurassic Park.

The raptors turn on the humans. Owen manages to look one in the eye and the expressions on both their faces made it look like the raptor would follow Owen again. And then it’s blown up. To see beautiful connection literally blown to pieces was powerful imagery.

When Blue runs back to join the fight with the I-rex, it’s in slomo. As she opens her mouth, the speed starts picking up, and then it’s at full speed when she screeches. This gradual increase into full-speed was a sound decision, especially when coupled with the actual sound.

 

The Indominus-rex also has special attention.

The I-rex is camouflaged near the river, when the first set of guards encountered her. This camouflage was animated spectacularly, both in regards to the hiding itself and the way the I-rex un-camouflaged itself.

Between the viewpoint (looking up) and I-rex (eating a guard) was a bunch of leaves. Blood splashed down on these leaves. Between the sun’s illumination and the other tree leaves’ shade, it gave an aesthetic brilliance to an otherwise gruesome scene.

The I-rex’s mouth opens so very wise in order to surround Zach and Grey in the hamster ball. To see its mouth open that wide, tall enough for a grown human to walk through without ducking, was utterly disturbing.

The I-rex throwed a raptor onto a big hot plate. It sizzled and everything!

 

Humans are less showy than dinosaurs but they still had some wow factor.

The shape (shorter as back, dagger-pointy at front) and colour of Claire’s hair is phenomenal. It screams, ‘I’m a powerful executive’. Claire’s executive hair. All these years later, it remains my favourite hairstyle on others.

Masrani and Claire are talking on screen, both slightly off-centre. Then Owen walks to stand between them on a lower level, dominating the screen. Such a brilliant shot.

All the guards’ heartbeats were displayed on the screen in the control room. As the I-rex killed them, their heartbeats went still on the display screen one by one. It managed to make the moment more serious than seeing the deaths alone could have been. Plus the quick succession of the deaths upped the anticipation considerably, especially when the gaps between two specific deaths were either shorter or longer than the rest.

Zach using and bone and banner as a torch was clever. These are the same bones and banner in the foyer from Jurassic Park.

 

Other creatures had attention, too.

The petting zoo and riding of baby dinosaurs was so incredibly cute. (Admittedly, riding infant dinosaurs doesn’t seem ethical, but it was still cute to see kids on dinosaurs nonetheless.)

Owen and Claire see a sauropod all sliced up. Then they look up and see a whole field of attacked sauropods. As the angle gets wider, more and more longnecks are shown to be injured.

A pterosaur is eating Claire’s assistant, then they are both eaten by the mosasaur. The pterosaur’s beak opens just as the mosasaur’s shuts. Brilliant cinema.

A pterosaur trying to carry a baby dinosaur in the air was really sad.

The film ends with the t-rex standing on the helipad overlooking the park, roaring over his kingdom.

 

 

Satisfying Story Points

 

My favourite points are to do with Claire.

Claire hears someone get crunched and eaten via the phone. Hearing those sounds remotely made those particular deaths gruesome. It elevated it from an animal attack to monstrous terror.

Grey says, “We need more teeth.” Claire said earlier that investors want more teeth, so dinosaurs needed more teeth to keep park funded/alive. In this situation, having more teeth would keep the humans alive. So she gets the t-rex.

 

Two specific ones relate to Owen.

The fact that Owen has trained the raptors to listen to him is an incredible idea. Seeing this put into practice with the I-rex hunt was genius.

Owen and co go into the Indominus-rex cage to investigate the claw marks showing that the Indominus rex ‘climbed out’. Turns out the I-rex was hiding in the pen. An idiot opens the big gate, rather than escaping through one of the small doors, thus allowing the I-rex to escape the pen. This mean the I-rex was smart enough to set a trap.

 

Henry Wu, the geneticist from Jurassic Park, has a much more prevalent role in this film. This was satisfying because without him there would be no dinosaurs. For someone so essential to the films, his character definitely deserved its own story arc.

Jurassic Park 3 (Film): Critique 2/2

*****SPOILERS*****

 

 

References and Humour

 

This film has a few references to the first film, presumably to capture some of the magic. Just little details for the audience to recognise. (There are also some references to the second film, such as lucky bags.)

In the first film, the t-rex saves the characters from raptors. Hence the audience might expect the t-rex to save them from the Spinosaurus. It does this for a brief moment by distracting the Spinosaurs. The t-rex dying means this solution isn’t permanent, hence the filmmakers simultaneously confirmed and denied our expectations.

In the first film, Grant only agrees to go with Hammond because Hammond promised funding for Grant’s dig. The same happened in this film when the Kirbys offered Grant funding.

In this film and the first, they look through piles of dinosaur faeces. (Both piles look to be similar heights, too.) They’re searching for different things, differentiating them during a comparison.

At the end of the first film, a pelican flies next to the helicopter alongside sad music. This is copied in this film, only the pelican is replaced by the pterosaur.

 

There was plenty of humour.

In reference with going to the dinosaur island, the guard says, “It will be a walk in the park.” Considering this phrase means ‘easy and problem-free’, this is shown to be completely false. Yet in the literal sense, they do walk on the property (and essentially storage) of Jurassic Park.

Billy is teaching a student the texture difference between rocks and fossils. Somehow, he managed to turn it into a flirting exercise.

Alan is asked, “Do you like computers?” to which he replies, “I like the abacus.”

Paul vividly describes a fishing trip that was a complete disaster. Then he says wistfully, “I miss fishing.” To miss something that failed so badly is in itself funny. But he misses fishing because of how awful their current experiences are on the dinosaur island, putting a normal fishing disaster into perspective.

Alan walks off and the guard tells the Kirbys, “We’ll look for your son… in the direction they’re going.”

 

 

Problems

 

There were a few odd moments.

Grant dreams of this film’s new design of male raptor. But Grant hasn’t seen a male raptor yet, so how could he perfectly dream of one?

A tall metal fence with wires was designed to keep the dinosaurs contained yet the Spinosaurus manages to breaks through. Yet the Spinosaurus couldn’t break down the wooden door of the observatory because of a few measly locks? This didn’t make sense.

The sound levels jumped all over the place in this film. It’s very annoying to keep on changing the volume. A film’s meant to be watched, not directly participated with.

 

The Kirbys behaved oddly.

The bar scene is really loud. That’s fine. But Grant and the Kirbys spoke really quietly. Yes, they wanted a private conversation, but people have to speak up to be heard over loud bar music. So to have a quiet conversation in this setting was daft.

Also, the Kirbys knew they wanted a private conversation. Why, then, did they choose a loud, public place? Not only is public the opposite of private, but having to shout risks other people overhearing, therefore making the conversation even more public. So the Kirbys’ setting choice makes no sense.

Amanda’s arm movements during and after her screams are too long super flail-y, as if she has no bones. It just doesn’t look quite right, as if she over-acted or the director had weird ideas.

 

Sometimes Eric’s behaviour doesn’t make sense. Not only for humans in general but in relation to him specifically (i.e. his intelligence).

Eric’s door is wide open, allowing broad daylight to come inside. Yet he switches on a lamp. He says the lamps are running out of power, so why would he use the lamps when he didn’t need to? He’s smart so he should definitely know better than to waste stuff. Even if he wasn’t smart, the fact that he’s survived so long by himself shows that he clearly has common sense: wasting energy when it’s not necessary goes against common sense.

Whilst it rains, Eric shouts for the others to come to him… but they were barely a few metres away. The rain wasn’t loud enough to warrant that volume. Is it perhaps interesting that Eric shouts over quiet rain whilst earlier his parents whispered beneath loud bar music?

 

There were pterosaur problems.

When Amanda crosses a bridge in the bird pen, there are sounds like pigeon wings. Now, pigeon wings are small and feathered. Size and texture affect wing sounds. So, for a pterosaur’s big, featherless wings to sound like a pigeon’s small, feathered wings is ridiculous.

The pterosaurs are contained within the bird pen. However, at the end of the second film, a pterosaur lands on a tree next to dinosaurs and there’s no cage in the sky. Both films happen on the same islands so the pterosaurs should be faced with the same living situations. Did a few somehow get free after the second movie? There could be a feasible explanation. But filmmakers need to explain something if it otherwise contradicts previous things.

 

 

Conclusion

 

This film was okay.

After how brilliant the first two films were, having a sequel like this was underwhelming. Maybe it would have been perceived better if it were an independent dinosaur movie, meaning it wouldn’t have to live up to expectations? Or perhaps riding the coattails of its predecessors was the only reason it did as well as it did?

The second film was so funny, thanks to Malcolm being the main character. In this film, serious Grant is the main character, changing the tone of the movie completely. That’s fine. Without some sort of comic relief character, though, this change in tone is far too dramatic. Yes, no funny character could fill the void of Malcolm, but it would have taken the edge off the drastic difference between films.

Still, the film isn’t bad. I definitely watch it and enjoy the good bits. The fire-water, the presentation of raptor intelligence, the short presence of the t-rex, the safe cage becoming drownsville: there were many frankly excellent decisions. Yet the constant bad decisions limit how much the good can be enjoyed.

I don’t hate Jurassic Park 3 but it’s definitely disappointing that it doesn’t live up to its predecessors.

Jurassic Park 3 (Film): Critique 1/2

Dr Alan Grant is asked to give Paul and Amanda Kirby an arial tour of the dinosaur island. But then their plane lands on the island: it was a ruse to get Grant to help them find their son Eric.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Clever

 

In the intro, the boat travels into a bay or upriver (either way, the island surrounds it on both sides).

Then we see a shot from the boat’s perspective, with the shore very close, and we hear a splash. Then there’s a shot from Eric’s perspective from the glider, looking down onto an empty boat. Clearly something on land came into the water to eat the sailors, but the audience doesn’t know what.

As the Spinosaurus is clearly the main antagonist in the film, it would be easy for the audience to guess that the Spinosaurus was the one to eat the sailors. Then later, when Grant and co are on their river boat, the audience can guess that the semi-aquatic Spinosaurus would cause issues.

Even if some audience members didn’t follow this foreshadowing, the Spinosaurus is clearly a natural in the river. So everyone could deduce that the Spinosaurus was the one to eat the sailors from the intro.

 

There were three particularly enjoyable choices relating to the senses.

The first shot of the film is of an islet that shaped like a dinosaur tooth.

When oil spills on the river and then the oil is set on water, it looks like the water is on fire. This is such an alien, contradictory situation compared to normal that it’s a powerful visual.

When the pterosaurs are chasing after Billy (who’s flying on the glider), one of the pterosaurs makes a sound like a penguin.

 

There were of course other clever decisions.

We see brachiosaurs that are green with a red crest. That’s very different to how they looked in the first two films. Perhaps this is sexual dimorphism, exactly like what’s seen in the raptors. Maybe it’s a subspecies of brachiosaur, or even a different species of sauropod. Or perhaps someone filled in the brachiosaur’s DNA blanks in a more creative manner. All these possible answers are definitely feasible within the framework that the first Jurassic Park film provides.

Grant and co hide in the boat cage to protect themselves from the Spinosaurus. But then the Spinosaurus rolls the boat over, submerging the humans who are now stuck in the cage. So the very thing they were using to protect themselves from the Spinosaurus becomes the very thing the Spinosaurus used to hurt them.

 

 

Good

 

The decisions with the t-rex were outstanding.

The t-rex being killed early was such a good move. Its presence pays homage to the first two films without its presence dominating this film.

The fight between the t-rex and the Spinosaurus was really well choreographed. The shaking of the skin, the movements of the tails… everything was animated well with great attention to detail.

 

The raptors are shown to be very intelligent.

The raptors hurt one of the security guards to lure the other humans into the open, all so that the raptors could kill them, too. This demonstrates the raptors’ ability to think, plan, and recognise sequences of events. It really brings to life their level of intelligence.

A raptor snaps the neck of the guard lying prone on the ground, just like how the Spinosaurus snapped the t-rex’s neck whilst it was lying prone on the ground.

The raptors clearly didn’t follow the scent of their eggs through the bird cage to get to the coast (with all the blocked doors, broken walk ways and loads of water, it isn’t a feasible route). Yet they predicted that the humans would go to the coast. At first, this seems farfetched. However, all humans on the island would arrive by sea then leave by sea. So the raptors clearly know that the humans would eventually go to the water.

 

In the first film, everything Grant did was self-assured. Yet in this film, he’s shown to be awkward and not self-assured in various situations. It presents a much more rounded character with more depth. Grant’s characterisation is the first film isn’t lacking, yet seeing this other side to Grant is satisfying.

Grant is really awkward whilst giving a lecture. However, when it turns to him answering questions, he’s far more natural. I’ve seen this plenty of times: a lecture is much more formal than Q&A, a difference that reflects in how these words are delivered just moments apart.

When Grant used his fake raptor voice box to make raptor noises, he couldn’t do it right the first few times. It’s refreshing to see fictional characters not mastering a skill on their first attempt!

But Grant is still clever and says eye-opening things. Billy stole some raptor eggs. Paul asks, “What if they catch us with them?” to which Grant responds, “What if they catch us without them?”

Wheel of Time (Series Three) Critique 4/4

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 
 

Problems

 

There were only five problems in this series. Five! In any other show I watch, I see at least five problems per episode, let alone the whole series. So that’s quite a feat.

Two problems relate to Loial’s roar and the other two relate to Liandrin’s hair. (It’s clear none of these problems negatively impact the plot in a serious way.)

Egwene’s reaction to Rand kissing Lanfear in his dream is a bigger problem than these. But, compared to its impact on the plot, it’s still rather minor.

 

Loial’s roar was off-putting.

            The least offensive problem was Loial’s teeth. When he roared, they were bloody massive. Whatever possessed the filmmakers to make Loial’s teeth huge, I don’t know.

            The second problem also relates to this roar. Loial’s trying to destroy the floating path so that trollocs can’t pass through the Waygate (essentially a portal) into the Two Rivers. The trollocs are almost there and yet Loial takes the time (wastes the time) to roar at them? Yes, it looks dramatic, but for a studious (hence clever) person to take an unnecessary risk is very unlikely.

 

Another slight problem was the texture of Liandrin’s hair.

            It’s somewhere between frizzy and wavy. That could be explained by Tanchico’s heat. Some parts of the hair have even been crimped, but not all over, meaning Liandrin couldn’t be bothered to finish it. Aes Sedai always look their best, so for Liandrin to disregard this is bizarre. Perhaps this shows how distracted and frazzled her task is making her, and being back in the place where she was abused, but this justification feels flimsy. (Especially when considering the next point.)

            When Liandrin comes out the palace to see Nynaeve, her hair is crimped all over. What, so she’s looking for this magical bracelet yet she decides to do her hair properly instead? The only other explanation for the complete crimping would be a basic continuity error. Yes, it’s the final shot in this series where we see Liandrin’s hair uncovered, so I understand the filmmakers would want Liandrin to look perfect, but doing so at the expense of continuity? Not good.

 

Egwene was upset because she saw Rand kissing Lanfear in Rand’s dream.

If Rand knew it was actual-Lanfear rather than something his dreaming mind created, then Egwene being upset by this makes sense (considering she’s dating Rand). But nothing from that scene indicated that Rand knew it was actually Lanfear. So yes, Egwene is still entitled to be sad her boyfriend’s dreaming of kissing another woman, but that’s nothing to start a fight over.

Some people suggest it’s the fact that Rand had a relationship with Lanfear and, now that he knows she’s a Forsaken, he’s still dreaming of kissing a Forsaken rather than embracing the Light. That alone wouldn’t account for Egwene’s reaction, but the fact Rand knows Lanfear is torturing Egwene in her sleep, it would be worrying if Egwene didn’t react to Rand and Lanfear being passionate. But why would Egwene feel betrayed enough to break up and lose trust over a dream? 

Others say Rand has control over his dreams and, as such, that allows him to know if people in his dreams are real or imagined. I don’t follow the logic of this. Yes, control and experience can help anyone sort between genuine and duds/faulty things. But if Rand can control his dreams, I’ve seen no evidence of this; as he’s new to all this, he clearly can’t have enough experience.

So, Egwene reacting to the Rand-Lanfear passion didn’t have a solid basis behind it. No explanation justifies it. But Egwene’s loss of trust in Rand isn’t all that important for the plot. Her creating emotional distance with him is necessary, sure, but that could be explained away with fearing losing him dying in the Last Battle, going mad, or joining the Dark. So Egwene could remove her own emotions to protect herself from his removed emotions. A small problem with an already-available solution/alternative.

 

 

Other

 

Two final things to think about.

Egwene isn’t as prominent a character in this series compared to the previous one. In all fairness, she was the main focus of Series Two, so letting others dominate the plot is only fair. However, Egwene not being the centre of the plot doesn’t mean she’s vanished: we still see her often and her contributions are essential. To balance keeping her relevant yet pulling back her ‘main character mode’ shows great talent.

Lanfear stabs Moraine with a sword. My first instinct was to think it is Lan’s sword. For Moraine to be killed by the equipment of her Warder, the person who keeps her safe, it an unfortunate and emotional hit. However, I’m not good enough to accurately identify swords. So, I’m noting it as a possibility that’s clever if it’s true. And if it’s not? No problem.

 

 

 

All-in-all, this series was amazing. On a technical level, this series is definitely the best so far. The creativity and intelligence and beauty were overwhelming in their abundance and quality. Sure, there was less worldbuilding than in previous series, but that allowed the plot to move at a very steady pace, meaning everything was fully considered. The fact I could count the number of issues on one hand proves how put-together the team was, allowing them to deliver something truly amazing.

Wheel of Time (Series Three) Critique 3/4

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Humour

 

My favourite humour came from the interactions between Alanna of the Green Ajah and Maksim, her living Warder.

Alanna says, “I thought you were eyeing up that baker boy?” to which Maksim replies, “I was, but have you tasted his bread?”

Alanna asks if the villagers Maksim are training are ready. He answers with, “We’re all going to die here.” Then, a little later, Maksim admits that Alanna was right and he was wrong. Then he asks, “Does that comfort you, now that we’re all going to die here?”

Maksim asks Alanna if she wants boiled turnips or figs. She gets really excited for figs but then he hands her a bowl of boiled turnips. Alanna’s face was priceless at this moment.

 

As always, Matt was a steady source of humour.

During the first meeting between the Amyrlin and Matt is hilarious, he tries to be humble. But she doesn’t take his bullshit and instead takes him down a peg.

Matt complains about how eating with chopsticks is impossible. Then Nynaeve does it perfectly. Matt groans, “You’re doing this to hurt me, aren’t you?”

Min asks what the collar looks like. Matt says, “Well, like a collar.” So helpful.

The eelfinn keeps asking Matt, “What is your need?” One of Matt’s responses is, “What I need is to stop getting bollocked around.” Another is, “I need to get the fuck out of here.”

 

A few more moments made me snort.

Moraine tells Rand and his friends, “I know you’ll ignore me. I know you’ll do what you want.” So funny.

An Aiel girl says to Rand, “Goatherders herd goats. What do shepherds herd, sheps?”

Before the battle, Faille turns to Perrin and says, “You’re no fun when you’re waiting to die.”

 

 

Thought-Producing

 

Several different burial practices are depicted. All are incredibly special.

In Perrin’s family, the dead are given an apple blossom to hold so that a tree grows above their burial site. Another one is Rand’s ancestors, burying the dead under a cairn with a window left for the eyes and a single flower.

Alanna’s culture practices cremation. They then mix the dead’s ashes with water and clay, making a mask. She says it disappears as the person works through their grief (presumably because of tears, sweat and cracking from constant face movements). Considering she’s wearing a mask right now and one of her warders just died, we see Ihvon with her in both life and death.

 

Different moments made you sit back and appreciate how a few words can inspire many thoughts.

Verin asks Moraine, “I know you trust in the Dragon, but can you trust in Rand?” Trusting in a person is harder than trusting an idea. For the world’s fate to depend on someone you might not trust is frightening.

Siuan tells Moraine she’ll find her in the next life. If this wasn’t romantic enough, Moraine then tells Siuan, “I’ll be waiting.” Very sappy but I appreciated it nonetheless.

Perrin tells Loial, “Three more fighters here tonight won’t make a difference. Your book might.” That is, if they don’t win, Loial’s book could help people in the future fight back against the dark. (As a reader, hearing a book can win a fight better than fighting is appreciated.)

 

Rand is properly smiling as he hangs out with Matt and Perrin.

It was really nice to see him like this, to not be as frowny as before. The smiles are genuine and aren’t weighed down with his concerns. After pretending he’d died, thinking he’d never see his friends again, it’s no surprise talking shit with them has him looking happier.

They sit down for a drink, a typical thing for young men. Normalcy for unnormal people. When doing serious things (like saving the world), it shows that a lack of happiness is also a serious thing.

Wheel of Time (Series Three) Critique 2/4

*****SPOILERS*****

 

 

Clever: Woman

 

Much thought was given to Liandrin.

Liandrin returns to Tanchico, her birthplace. She storms a wedding dressed in a funeral veil, killing everyone to save the young girl from marrying an old man. Death and a funeral veil are a good connection. Also, veils are worn at funerals, when life has ended; with the wedding guests dead, the girl’s abuse has ended, too.

Liandrin’s accent slips into the native Tanchico accent (Scouser) when she’s destroying the wedding. Her slight loss of control in this situation (in which a girl has no control) foreshadows that this happened to her.

 

There’s clever business with other powerful women.

Alanna tells the two girl channelers how to heal, comparing it to weaving wool. Considering doing magic is called weaving, this is perfect analogy, especially considering people of the Two Rivers are shepherds.

Elaida always complained how basic Siuan’s rooms were, saying kings come here so it should look magnificent. Yes, beauty and riches show power and success. But royals being put in basic chairs in a basic room would humble them and thus make them more pliant to the Amyrlin Seat. Elaida doesn’t appreciate how power has many forms.

We see a flash back to Queen Morgase, newly crowned. She asks three women for their fealty. They get on their knees and give it, just for the guards to give them death by slitting their throats from behind. As the ladies were on their knees, it made it more difficult for them to get away and to fight back. One of the victims was elderly and the other just a girl, showing how ruthless Morgase is.

 

 

Clever: Connections

 

Rand and Moraine come to a tree the Aiel consider important.

A sapling from this tree was once given as a gift to Moraine’s city. But then her uncle cut this new tree down to make a throne. This is what started the Aiel War, leading to the Aiel hunting the uncle down to the slopes of the Dragon Mountain.

One of these Aiel was Rand’s mum and she gave birth to him there. Being of the Aiel blood, being born on the Dragon Mountain, and being raised outside of the Aiel Waste are the criteria of the Dragon Reborn.

So Rand and Moraine have been linked since before Rand was born.

 

Loial saves Chiad’s life, meaning she owes Loial toh (a sense of duty/obligation). As such, Chiad follows Loial around. Because Bain goes wherever Chiad goes, Bain joins.

            Before the fight at the Two Rivers, the trio play maiden’s kiss (maidens hold a spear to someone’s neck and, if their kiss isn’t good enough, the spear goes a little deeper into the skin). Loial’s kiss is bad but the Aiel don’t want to kill him. To justify stopping, they say they didn’t ask the Roofmistress’ permission to play.

            Loial tells them that, because they just saved his life, Chiad’s toh is paid. As such, they’re safe from the battle. Chiad realises Loial did this on purpose and complains that Loial cheated her from her toh.

            But then Bain steps in. She says that Loial’s actions right now saved them from death in the upcoming battle, hence Bain now owes Loial toh. And as Chiad goes where Bain goes, they stay with Loial a little longer.

 

 

Clever: Aiel

 

Aiel enter Rhuidean to become Chiefs and Wise Ones. They see visions of how the Aiel came to be.

When Rand and Moraine enter Rhuidean, the Wise Ones spoke in perfect unison. They call Rand and Moraine ghosts and say ghosts shouldn’t ‘haunt the living’ by talking to them. Considering the truth of what Aiel see in Rhuidean literally makes some Aiel go mad, the visions in the city are haunting so they shouldn’t be shared.

There’s also the obvious observation. Being ghosts symbolises the death and rebirth of an Aiel becoming either Chief or Wise One.

Finally, the Wise Ones spoke their instructions in perfect unison. That was spooky and works well with the haunting theme.

 

The Rhuidean visions show the origin of the Aiel people.

Aiel hate the Tuatha’an for being pacifists. Aiel hate oathbreakers. In the Rhuidean visions, we see that the Aiel were once Tuatha’an who broke their oaths of nonviolence.

Aiel think using swords are dishonourable; instead, they use spears. In the visions, we see that the Tuatha’an say swords are for killing whereas spears are for feeding. For both, swords are dishonourable, but for completely different reasons: swords aren’t dishonourable because of how they’re used to fight but because fighting itself is dishonourable. The Aiel have been duped. 

Essentially, everything the Aiel believe in is turned upside-down in Rhuidean. Shock, disbelief, embarrassment… all the emotions would be flowing.