Jurassic Park III (2001)

The black sheep of the original trilogy and the one I actually had to rewatch in order to bring this review because the unfortunate truth is, this film is just so forgettable. Even with its newest creature plastered all over the marketing and dominating the film itself, not even the 'mighty' Spinosaurus could save this film from the Roland Emmerich section of the summer blockbuster folder. I honestly do not know what could have saved the film in its earlier incarnations as surprisingly 'Jurassic Park III' has very little information about its origins released, making my heart sink at the thought that this was the concept they always wanted to go with.

Where 'JPIII' does succeed is in its two returning cast members Sam Neil and Laura Dern, however we once again get disappointment and frustration at even this tiny bit of happiness. Dr. Alan Grant and Elle Sattler never hooked up after the events of the first film..Why? The entirety of Grant's character development was built on him learning to take care of children and want a family with Elle and the very first thing we see of this couple is Grant visiting Elle and some random guy she hooked up with and had two kids even..What? This is a problem, it throws away any development we got with these two and we're left with imitators rather than the real thing, despite being played by the same actors.

What we are also left with is even worse cannon fodder that are not all played by bad actors, but these characters are SyFy Channel level of stupid, annoying, and you cannot wait to see them die. They also make some of the worst decisions I have ever seen in a 'Jurassic Park' film, most of which lead to death or danger when it could have been avoided. The film is a cheap horror/adventure film that happened to get a large budget to make, but squandered it. Even the special effects from Stan Winston feel rushed and if possible worse than before. The Spinosaurus does not feel alive in the least, rather it feels and looks like something you should see in a Disney theme park ride. The CGI and drastic redesigns of fan favorites such as the Velociraptors don't fare any better.

Overall, 'Jurassic Park III' has little to offer even to fans such as myself. Even the merchandising and collectables we got from this entry are mediocre at best. Sadly, I can't even say mediocre describes the film itself, it's just a bad film that belonged in a drive-in somewhere. It is a slap in the face to Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton, and anybody who loves themselves some 'Jurassic Park'. I usually skip this one when I have a marathon, and I have to recommend the same to you fellow readers.

 JURASSIC PARK III GETS A:

D-

PROS:

-Sam Neil and Laura Dern

CONS:

-Cheap Production Values

- Weak Special Effects

-Terrible Characters/Writing