Well, what can I say. We have the third
movie of a series, and series movies are never as good as the first
one...Well, not quite. There are exceptions to every rule, and JP3
is one of them. That's not to say it has it's flaws, tho.
JP3 is a lot like #1 and #2 in that it's light on plot and
heavy on special effects. The special effects are even better than
they were in the first one. The effects team certianly has had time
to perfect the techniques. The new dinosaurs are great and very realistic.
Something of a suprise, is that they manage a decent reason why Sam
and the rest go to, and get stuck on the island in the first place.
We even get some character growth, though the majority of it is very
old hat. (Throw a seperated couple into a dangerous situation and
let them reconcile.)
On the other hand, there are some bits left to be desired. As
I said, the plot is thin and uses several Hollyweird stand-bys. Big
deal! This is about the dinos! Well, they missed a few things there
too. What sets up the movie, is a boat that has the drivers snatched
off of it by a dinosaur in the mist. We never see this dino, nor do
we ever see anything that seems like it would have done it. Minor,
but annoying.
Next, there are the Teradactyls. This is the one glaring error,
as they have them hovering and tacking off from a standstill like
modern birds. Science has proven that they were clumsy fliers, being
able to soar like a hawk, but needing help when it comes to take-off.
They fly far too easily in the movie, though the suspense would be
different if they flew more properly.
My final nit-pick for this is the kid. I like him for the most
part. A youn teenager who's smart and resourceful, who manages to
figure out how to survive on the island all by himself. Okay, gotcha.
When we first see him, he's cautious, avoids dinos when he can, and
uses a leaf cap for camoflage. As soon as he rescues Sam from some
raptors, he forgets most of this, and goes shouting through the forest
after his parents. Not the right move on the writer's part.
