Jurassic World... Worth The Wait???

Here be spoilers...

I've been waiting for Jurassic World to come out for so long that it is barely worth linking to the obligatory yearly posts pining for it.

Let me put you in the picture... I was 9 years old when the hype around the imminent release of Jurassic Park (the movie) began. By the time I went to see it I had already devoured Michael Crichton's book (total 9 year old bookworm) and collected the entire Jurassic Park card collection. Sticker books, quilt covers, toys and comics were soon littering my room all covered in the red and black logo. I LOVED Jurassic Park.

So I went into Jurassic World with overly high expectations. They were not met. This movie seemed to lack a heart and, worse, at times lacked any sort of danger to the characters that might make it a little more thrilling.

Was it a bad movie? Hell no. Beautifully shot, with Chris Pratt putting in a sterling (and hunky) performance as Owen the raptor keeper, it was pretty epic. There were thrills, there were dinosaurs and there were nods to the original (especially awesome one near the end involving a red flare!).

But the negatives were there a plenty. A very thin storyline. A disjointed "In peril, not in peril, in peril, not in peril" approach to our main characters meant you didn't really feel they were in much danger (though this approach did work pretty well in Jurassic Park III I admit). The character of Henry Wu was way over-used considering how bland he was. The villain was so "villain by numbers" that when he inevitably died it was a bit "Meh". The kids "journey" to "brotherly love" was laid on way too thick.

There were some excellent moments though. When the velociraptors head off with Owen to hunt the I. Rex. When they suddenly and unexpectantly turn against him. When the T-Rex (somewhat inevitably, I actually assumed this was how things would play out) arrives on the scene and saves the day (a totally fan-wank moment to "correct" the supposed wrong of Spinosaurus besting T-Rex in JPIII). But it was still an excellent scene.

So a mixed bag. A good movie. Obviously it was never going to capture the magic of Jurassic Park but I'd argue Jurassic Park III was also superior to Jurassic World. I did get myself a Jurassic World cup so all was not lost (and Lego Jurassic World is AMAZING)!!!

Given there were only about 10 people in the entire cinema, I'm concerned there may not be a sequel... but let's hope there is a second chance!!

Exciting Geeky Stuff Ahead In 2015

2015 is shaping up to be an exciting year for my inner-geek (Jae Fact: I'm 75% inner-geek). Thought I'd take a look at what is upcoming.

Movies

Jupiter Ascending

The Matrix was THE sci-fi event of my teens. The Wachowskis are returning to original movie sci-fi and regardless of whether it turns out to be any good I have to applaud any attempt at a non-sequel, non-novel adaption, non-superhero take on the genre. The trailer makes it look rather epic.

Jurassic World 

How long have we waited for this? FOREVER. I cannot begin to express how eager I am to see this. I was an absolutely Jurassic Park FREAK when I was 10 and I will attempt to out FREAK 10 year old Jae this time too. Plus... Chris Pratt is HOT.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 

I own the Star Wars Encyclopaedia. I own vehicle guides, novels, comics and I even give the prequel trilogy a get out of jail free card. I'm that sort of Star Wars fan. I am sooooooo excited to get a new Star Wars movie. :)

So Many Marvel Movies 

10 years ago could you imagine Marvel releasing so many movies of such high quality in such a short space of time? Now we are just spoilt for choice! From the Marvel Cinematic Universe we have Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man upcoming with Age of Ultron looking absolutely fantastic.

Fox is also treating us to a reboot of Fantastic Four, something it very much needed (Jae Fact: Jae once disrupted filming on Rise of the Silver Surfer when he insisted on sticking to his normal walk to work filming or no filming. They weren't amused). I hope it won't be disappointing.

Terminator Genisys

Terminator canon is becoming very tricky, and the number of actors playing certain roles is starting to get a bit silly BUT Arnold Schwarzenegger is back and Terminator remains a foundational franchise in my rise to geekhood. I'm interested to see if some of the coolness of the first two movies can be salvaged and restored.

London Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen (along with White House Down) was my "I shouldn't really like it but I do" breakout movie of 2013. So its sequel set in London is something I'll be keen to keep a close eye on. 

Television 

Westworld 

I'm just intrigued as to how they are going to evolve this story into a TV series. Second Michael Crichton property to pique my interest in 2015, his legacy lives on at least!

More Marvel TV 

Marvel is taking over the world. In 2015 Agent Carter and Daredevil join Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D in representing the MCU on the small screen. Daredevil is the first of the Netflix series which will hopefully expand the MCU in interesting ways. 

Parks and Recreation 

Parks and Recreation is coming to an end. Sad times. It is an acquired taste but it is one that I actually did acquire. Wonderful show, great performances and Chris Pratt. Mmm... 

Comics 

Marvel

A new era in Star Wars awaits us as Lucasfilm's new sister company, Marvel, takes over Star Wars comics from Dark Horse. 

With the Expanded Universe now a thing of the past, we'll have to see where Disney's more canon-friendly approach takes us. But my pull-list is going to be heaving!

In other news... Spider-Man 2099 returns to the 2099 universe... yet another look back to young Jae's favourite things.

DC

Hmm... DC's New 52 (something that re-ignited a long dormant love of comics in me) has turned sour and seems to lack direction (with the honourary exception of some comics like Snyder's Batman). I will keep an eye on DC's April 2015 "Convergence" event to see if the outcome of that brings some spirit back to the DC Universe. 

Jurassic World Is Really, Really Happening (SPOILERS)

Forgive me for being ever sceptical but I've been looking forward to Jurassic Park IV (now titled Jurassic World) for quite a long time and there have been many disappointments on the road. But with filming well under way and information leaking from the set I think that I can finally sit back and start getting excited!

So what's the goss?

20 odd years after the original Jurassic Park's collapse a new dinosaur park has been built in its place on Isla Nublar (for the uninitiated, Lost World and JPIII took place on Isla Sorna AKA "Site B", we've not revisited Isla Nublar since the first movie). Jurassic World is a successful attraction but the blasé (or perhaps jaded) people of the world have grown bored and visitor numbers are falling. 

In an attempt to create a sensational new exhibit which will get Jurassic World the attention of the world once more, the park's scientists have developed a new dinosaur (possibly called Diabolus Rex). And that seems to be where things go wrong...

There was a lot of fanboy rage when the concept of a "genetically enhanced" dinosaur was first mooted. However, as Colin Trevorrow has implied, this is actually a concept from the original Michael Crichton novel.

In a scene near the end of the book Henry Wu, the much put upon genius behind the successful cloning of dinosaurs, laments that John Hammond will not let him further augment his creations to make them more entertaining and less dangerous. Though Hammond is keen on an authentic experience it transpires that the current "versions" of species in the park have already been manipulated to be more palatable to prospective visitors as it was felt that the speed and aggression "real" dinosaurs (i.e. the first batch that Wu created) would not be in keeping with visitor's expectations of slow and plodding creatures that early paleontologists had theorised about.

And with Henry Wu due to make a return appearance in Jurassic World, it seems likely Hammond's passed away and his "talents" are being used to their fullest (though, of course, it may be his character will be the one who understands the dangers of what is being done and tries to stop it).

So I'm pretty stoked to see exactly what this new dinosaur looks like. With big crowds and new exhibits I'm pretty sure the opening scenes are going to look pretty fantastic.

I'm particularly looking forward to at least a glimpse of a mosasaur or two! My ten year old self, sat there reading Jurassic Park and desperately looking forward to the original movie, would be very proud of my high levels of excitement. :) Roll on my birthday week 2015... (well timed there Universal!)

Jurassic World: What We "Know" So Far

I've been excited about Jurassic Park IV since forever. It has spent so long in development hell that, after it was delayed from 2014 to 2015, I simply shrugged my shoulders and ignored it all as, to be perfectly honest, my Jurassic Park loving heart couldn't bear the prospect of another failed attempt.

But now my Google Alerts are coming thick and fast, choke full of casting news and excitement.

So what do we know?

Jurassic Park IV has been re-titled as Jurassic World. Whilst my ever dinosaur hungry brain hopes this means it'll be a (better executed) take on World War Z with dinosaur outbreaks around the world, I suspect we'll be looking at a "Jurassic World" park akin to Disney World (with awesome dinosaurs so about 10 times better). This also fits in with Sam Neill's comments that it'll be a "total re-jig". Some have taken those comments to mean it'll be a reboot or remake. I'd say we are looking at a soft reboot, keeping what happened before but starting off somewhere completely new (and probably in the USA rather than Costa Rica). I.e. Jurassic Park for a new generation but not destroying the "canon" (little though there is of it!).

It is currently due for release June 12, 2015 (just before my birthday so please keep to this people!!), and will be directed by Colin Trevorrow (who is also co-writing the remake of Flight of the Navigator, so if he messes either up he'll be the subject of some serious Fanboy Jae Rage!). He's made comments suggesting there will be a super fantastic new dinosaur. Though I think the Spinosaurus killing a T-Rex scene in JPIII was a step too far, I'm totally up for seeing what wonderful prehistoric creature they bring to the screen.

There are plenty of rumours over whether Sam Neill or Jeff Goldblum will return (personally I'd love to see Laura Dern's Sattler come back, she was a damn cool character in the first novel and Laura Dern gave her some strength in JP but she didn't get enough of a chance to shine). But we are starting to get some relatively firm news over which new actors will be joining the fun.

Ty Simpkins, of Iron Man 3 fame, appears to have cast which keeps in with the tradition of children among the main characters. Rumours have appeared suggesting Josh Brolin, Idris Elba and Jake Johnson have also been approached. With the male leads in hot contention, there's little news on any actresses as yet. I'm hoping this means LAURA DERN.

A boy can dream...