Improving the Jurassic Franchise
I’m not hyped about the Jurassic World: Rebirth trailer. And, to be brutally honest, I’m tired of not being hyped and/or being disappointed by Jurassic Park/World movies/projects in general. The films, with the exception of the first one (and possibly the second since there was a second book and it was directed by the same director as the first), are all basically b movies that try to give themselves a pass through that categorization but don’t pull it off in any redeemable way, and are instead mostly unnecessary cash grabs in my view. If you enjoyed more than the first one, that’s fine. This isn’t a personal attack on you. But for me, each new installment just makes me think about what could have been, and Jurassic World: Rebirth‘s trailer makes me believe we’re not getting anything worth being excited about here, either. I realize Hollywood is a business but the people involved here are cashing checks and getting rich at the audience’s expense (beyond the price of admission, mind you!). And that’s not cool with me. So, here’s some (hopefully) constructive criticism for whatever can be done for Rebirth before its release and any other movies that may happen down the road:
Bring the intelligence, realism, and science back to the franchise. The stories have been flirting with stupidity since The Lost World, and each movie seems to be getting worse in that way. These are supposed to be blockbuster movies and/or films, not TV episodes, but I find it unlikely that a lot of being would be able to tell much difference between what we’re getting and fan fiction series on YouTube with abnormally high budgets. Jurassic World really committed to moving the goalposts in the wrong direction for this perspective for anyone wanting something remotely believable, and the series hasn’t looked back
Come to terms with VFX limitations. It’s become a common refrain: “these look worse than the first movie in 1993!” And from a believability standpoint, it’s true in my opinion: The dinosaurs just aren’t convincing a lot of the time. Here’s my proposed litmus test to the filmmakers and producers/studios and production companies working on the movies: if you don’t believe what’s happening is real, then exercise restraint. That means fewer fan fiction-calibur battles between giant dinosaurs that never existed and fewer daytime scenes.
Commit to the relationship with the first movie’s story in a believable way, or sever ties: either tie it in deeply and make it work, or leave it alone. No more loose associations/retcons featuring the likes of Henry Wu or surprise Hammond business associates as some low-hanging-fruit nod to the first movie. Jurassic World takes place on the same island as the first park’s? You wouldn’t be able to tell. Rebirth‘s trailer mentions its island is somehow a testing ground for dinosaurs in the first movie’s island and has dinosaurs that were considered too dangerous for the first park? It may work in that it’s not impossible given the logic and world of the first film, but it just doesn’t seem likely and feels like a lazy excuse to bring even bigger, more outlandish “dinosaurs” to the screen based on the trailer. It would be more believable if it were tied into Jurassic World’s theme park given its predisposition toward the outlandishly fantastical through its hybrid dinosaurs. Why try to attach it to the original park? Speaking of which:
Isla Nublar, and the first park’s aesthetic, are still cooler than anything that’s come since. Use them. The story should surround Isla Nublar and the first park, and draw from them, in a balanced, selective way. Not doing so demonstrates a lack of awareness of (or apathy toward) what made the first movie work as well as it did.
Mosey away from The Mosasaurus. I’d imagine that unless you were pretty young/impressionable when it was introduced to the series, you agree with me that the Mosasaurus is nothing special in the films and adds virtually nothing to the series, largely because it looks like it’s from a PS3 cutscene, not something that exists in the real world. Once or twice could have been okay if done correctly, but the series seems to think this thing needs to be returned to as a topic again and again and it’s no more interesting now than it was when it was introduced. Scrap it.
Do I think any of this is going to happen at this point? Sadly, probably not. I think the series is beyond repair if you want anything like what I do and would take a long rest and a committed reboot to bring it back from something that people just go to for pure escapism/distraction. If you’re with me on this though, vote with your wallet and skip them until you see a change.