Positives! Despite how negative the past three critiques for JWD have been, there were areas that fully deserve praise.
*****SPOILERS*****
Visual
Brilliance
There
were many amazing visual moments.
My
favourite feature was when Malcolm impaled a burning locust on stick then threw
this stick into the Giganotosaurus’ mouth. It roars, the air making the fire
come out the mouth. DRAGON.
A
little less silly than the dragon was my second favourite feature. The t-rex
walks behind the ring water feature then roars, looking just like the Jurassic
Park symbol.
The
first side shot of the film focuses on a fishing boat. Then this massive wave
comes up and down, hiding the boat and bobbing it around. Visual genius.
Claire
hanging in the tree at the same level with the blind therizinosaur’s head was in
interesting shot. The audience goes from anticipating the dinosaur’s reaction
to confusion to relief. Then its clicking and grumblings were such complicated,
rhythmic sounds. Just like a big angry bird.
Raptors
are chasing Claire so she holds a pole up horizontally between two cars. This
catches the raptor under the chin, resulting in a full pinwheel. Brilliant.
Other
visuals of note are as follows.
Near
the end, a mosasaur is shown next to a humpback whale, dwarfing it. Between
whales being massive and us seeing the mosasaur’s entire body, the enormity of
the mosasaur was fully appreciated.
The
locusts get set on fire in the lab. This gets reflected in Dodgson’s glasses,
making it look like fire was burning in his eyes. Then these fiery locusts
escape and swarm the air, dropping like meteors. They’re a danger to the
dinosaurs, giving a nod to the meteor that originally made the non-avian
dinosaurs extinct.
Everyone
is in a high building. The giganotosaurus pushes its head through the glass
walls then sweeps its head from side to side. That moment was super scary.
Doves
are released at a wedding and immediately get eaten by a pterosaur. The very
symbol of peace dies at the hands (beak?) of a prehistoric creature.
In
the black market, there are several raptorfights, mimicking dogfights and
cockfights. Also in the black market, Owen twisting and pulling of the tiny
compies climbing all over his body was done really well.
Owen
drives his motorbike onto the plane. A raptor follows, but as the plane takes
off, the bike slides out the plane, dragging the raptor with it.
Cleverness,
Funniness and Sweetness
There
were many clever elements. Such as moss being displaced when the t-rex and
Giganotosaurus walk.
Mutant locusts are eating entire
fields of crops; the only farms unaffected are those that use Biosyn seeds.
This forces farmers to buy Biosyn seeds, making the company rich.
When Sattler asks, “You caught a
live one?” her voice is so husky. I’m glad they kept that detail rather than
force a retake. It’s the sort of situation where directors would want her to
sound younger, softer, smoother, more ‘feminine’. Yet here they kept the husk,
adding realism (enhanced with Grant’s likewise husky voice).
A small detail, but one of my
favourites, is related to Blue. She clicks her big toe claw on the metal bus.
The sound and rhythm emphasised Blue’s deadly nature.
When Grant, Sattler and Maisie exit
the mines, we get the classic Jurassic Park music. But the last few notes
change to give an ominous atmosphere. Yes, they escaped the mines, but
something bad’s going to come. (And it does!)
In Jurassic Park, Grant said how
raptors would disembowel their prey. In this film, he talks about how
scientists now think differently, that raptors go for the jugular. It’s nice
that the change in paleology paradigm is reflected in this film.
Whilst
not as numerous as other films in this franchise, there was still an element of
amusement.
In the black market, a carnivore
chomps on a guy’s hand, but he only starts screaming hysterically when a tiny
four legs starts nibbling on his other sleeve. If he were going to scream about
one of the creatures, one wouldn’t expect it to be the tiny nibbler over the
sharp predator!
Malcolm orders lots of coffee from a
noisy machine. Then he quickly tells Sattler about the locusts in the lab,
including directions whilst handing over a pass. So the coffee machine was to
prevent them being overheard. I really wasn’t expecting this: sneaky surprises
always amuse me.
The guard of the underground market
was disguised and acting like he was homeless. Then opens the door… with a
smartphone. The dichotomy between poverty and affluence in the one individual
elicited another surprised laugh from me.
When the plane goes down, Owen asks,
“What’s the plan?” Kayla the pilot yells, “Whatever happens!” Simple yet
successful.
Malcolm tells a story about his pet
dog and his own leg cast. That story was so like Malcolm, providing verbal
continuity with Malcolm’s depictions in the Jurassic Park series.
There
were a few sweet moments that really stood out.
When
Owen kisses Claire before her ejector seat is initiated, he kisses her on the
cheek rather than the lips. This made it much more caring.
When
the plane is in the process of crashing, Owen tells Claire that Maisie needs
her because Claire is her mum. Considering Maisie’s closer with Owen, him
saying this shows such reassurance, trust and love. (Which Claire needed after
Maisie saying Claire wasn’t her mum.)
Upside-down
in a car, Maisie sees Claire and Owen and says, “It’s my parents!” Earlier in
the film, Maisie crossly told Claire she wasn’t her mother, so to see this
retraction and announcement was heartwarming.
In the start of the first two films,
Claire and Owen are no longer together because their relationship fell apart.
In this film, they are still a couple. Their need to look over Maisie takes
priority over their squabbles.
Maisie
says she’s not a real person (because she’s a clone). Claire says, “You’re the
only you that ever was.”
Although
Owen and Blue essentially don’t interact in this film, their bond is still
shown. Like how, at the end of the film, Blue runs away with Beta yet comes
back to see Owen one last time. Also, their symmetry is lovely because they
both have a child.
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