JURASSIC PARK III
Released: July 18, 2001
Part two was a hit so, surprise, here is part 3 of this dinosaur series. Only this time, director Steven Spielberg merely handles executive producer duties, letting the talented and respected Joe Johnston ("October Sky", "Jumanji" and "The Rocketeer") direct. I guess ol' Steve had to devote all his time on "A.I."... One of the smartest decisions was to reduce the running time by over thirty minutes compared to the first two movies in the series (I'll avoid calling it a trilogy because you just KNOW there'll be a "Jurassic Park 4"). By framing the story in a brief (by today's movie standards) run time, Johnston is able to do two things right off - less waiting around for dino scenes and less character development of people we don't really care about or who'll just be dino-dinner anyways. Returning to the franchise are Sam Neil, Laura Dern (though her screen time amounts to under five minutes). Joining them are William H. Macy (who was rumored to have slagged the movie upon completion), Tea Leoni and Michael Jeter (the prisoner with the mouse fixation in "The Green Mile"). As per formula, there is a kid in the cast (Trevor Morgan) but impressively, this boy isn't annoying like the kids from the first two movies and actually, when you rate the cast of "JP3", he is the brightest of the bunch. Neil's Dr. Grant character, we are to believe, accepts a huge unspecified but likely multi-million dollar payment to accompany Macy and Leoni to the tropical island for some purpose not revealed until they are actually on the island but DOESN'T EVEN CASH THE CHECK before flying off to the dinosaur infested island. Plot absurdities and Leoni's acting aside, the special effects in "Jurassic Park III" are stellar. Some moments are a little better in resulting dino credibility but the best scene involving a dinosaur and a human interacting was easily when Leoni is face to face with one, which added to the overall decent thrills. In a movie such as this, you're paying to see dinosaurs and you get them. The ending seemed a tad abrupt as just when you think the characters are in for another chase sequence the credits start up, which provide just exactly what is required to set up the next in the series.
94 Minutes
Universal