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For a third time, dinosaurs terrorize people. This time, the people stumble across Site B (from the second movie), finding it a derelict place overrun by prehistoric wildlife, including bigger, badder, and smarter creatures.
There are a few good thrills to be had with Jurassic Park III. At this point, the special effects have been refined to look sharper and smoother, and there are still some huge animatronics being employed. Thus, you get a lot of good-looking dinosaurs running loose chasing people all over the island. This includes the epic Spinosaurous, which makes its introduction by fighting and defeating a T-Rex in mortal combat. There are also raptors everywhere, which use more cunning than before to hunt down their prey. On top of that, there's also some Pteranodons in a giant "bird cage" (from a scene that was in the original novel but never used before). The dinosaur action is modestly satisfying and pretty fun.
Unfortunately, the story leaves much to be desired. It is great to see Dr. Grant returning as the protagonist (and Dr. Sattler in a smaller role), but he winds up being surrounded by a bunch of the dumbest dorks imaginable. The whole plot revolves around an estranged and dippy couple that lost their son; they go so far as tricking and manipulating Grant and his protégé to the island. Once they all finally get there, it's just one dumb move after another, followed by lost of running and screaming. The film becomes a bit more endearing with the chase scenes, and the characters' human sides become apparent, but there are still some dumb things that happen that ruin all creditability (including watching a smartphone travel through a dinosaur's digestive system and somehow work underwater to relay an unintelligible message that somehow prompts the military to show up in the end...yeah right). Of all the faults with this film, however, the one thing that's always bothered me the most is that there's nothing new involved; it's just another island adventure with little connection to previous events, and nowhere else to go. The movie doesn't advance the arc of the series at all (though I haven't seen Jurassic World just yet, I have a feeling you can skip this one no problem), so it comes off as a mere throwaway adventure.
This film has good-looking photography, including some decent POV shots. Editing is solid. Sam Neill is as fun to watch as ever. Laura Dern is barely in the movie; what little screentime she has is fine and dandy. William H. Macey and Téa Leoni are excellent at playing the dippiest characters imaginable; Trevor Morgan does a fine job in his role; all the mercenary characters are fun to watch, and everybody else is just peachy. Writing is pretty weak, and there's hardly any dialogue that stands out. This production uses decent-looking sets, props, costumes, locales, and special effects. Music rehashes all the old themes.
This film has its share of cool action, and it often tries to recapture the same sense of wonder and whimsey that made the first film endearing. However, the plot doesn't hold much water, the characters are frustrating, and the whole movie doesn't leave as much of a lasting impact as the last two.
3/5 (Experience: Average | Story: Marginal | Film: Pretty Good)
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