Jurassic World officially opened its doors Wednesday, inviting movie-goers into lands roamed by dinosaurs for the fourth time. This time, the setting is the billion-dollar theme park Isla Nublar — where velociraptors put on a show for people instead of chasing them to their deaths.
The third sequel to the original Jurassic Park stars Chris Pratt as Owen Grady, the theme park's "Velociraptor whisperer," and Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing, who is in charge of Jurassic World's operations. The movie's premise is simple: everything is fine and dandy until the dinosaurs run wild. Dinosaurs aside, Jurassic World is reminiscent of Jurassic Park, which can both be a good or bad thing, depending on who's talking.
Owen, Claire and the Indominus Rex make for quite a team for The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. He found Jurassic World to be a world of fear and fun, despite following many of the usual tropes. He had particular praise for Pratt, who gave a "tremendously likeable performance."
Variety's Scott Foundas criticized Jurassic World for not having memorable set pieces, but added that it was clearly more imaginative than the first two sequels. Pratt once again received special mention for being effortlessly engaging.
Jake Coyle of the Associated Press, however, considered the leading lady more compelling: "Pratt, the Harrison Ford heir apparent, slides perfectly into the film. But it's Howard who makes the biggest impact as a corporate cog whose controlled world is imploding. It's not a subtle portrait but her transformation is the most convincing one in a film full of dubious evolutions."
To The Verge's Bryan Bishop, Jurassic World was unable to live up to one of Steven Spielberg's best works. His impression was that it's overall bigger and louder, but most definitely knows how to use its extra teeth.
"Two decades after dinosaurs ruled the Earth's cinemas, are we still capable of putting our phones away for two hours and being honestly amazed by them, without a glaze of cynicism or irony to keep us stuck?" asked Robbie Collin from The Telegraph.
Based on the first reviews to come out, the answer is yes.
Jurassic World was released by Universal Pictures and has been rated PG-13. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, the movie was written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly and Trevorrow. Joining Pratt and Howard are Vincent D'Onofrio, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Jake Johnson, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan and Judy Greer.
Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
