There’s nothing quite like seeing dinosaurs come to life on the big screen. When director Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was released in 1993, moviegoers were spoiled by one of the best and most rewatchable blockbusters of all time. Since then, filmmakers and moviegoers alike have been chasing the cinematic euphoria that the first Jurassic Park offered. And with Jurassic World: Dominion just around the corner, now is the perfect time to look back and reevaluate another dinosaur-filled trilogy capper: Jurassic Park III.
After directing The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Spielberg, unfortunately, had no interest in returning for the third film. However, his friend, director Joe Johnston, had already expressed interest in directing a Jurassic Park sequel even before the second one, so he seemed like an obvious choice. Together with writers Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor (Yes, that Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor), Johnston took over the reins of the franchise. And the direction he decided to go with this third film was certainly an inauspicious one, but it was also the smart one. While many would of course try to recapture the awe-inspiring visuals and sound of the first film, Johnston ignores that temptation entirely. Instead, Johnston and his writers decided to lean into the B-movie thrills and create a perfect guilty pleasure movie.
After Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm took the lead in the second film, everyone’s favorite paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) steps back into the spotlight for the third. The story follows Grant’s reluctant return to the dinosaur-infested islands off the coast of Costa Rica. However, instead of Isla Nublar, where the events of the first film took place, Grant flies to Isla Sorna. Of course, Grant is not thrilled about the idea of returning to the islands, but when Paul Kirby (William H. Macy) writes him a large check and assures him it would only be an aerial tour overlooking the island, he and his assistant Billy (Alessandro Nivola) agree to help guide the Kirbys. Unbeknownst to Grant, Paul and his ex-wife Amanda Kirby (Téa Leoni) actually intend to land on the island to find their son, Eric (Trevor Morgan), who has unwillingly been marooned on Isla Sorna.
Even though the film may lack thorough development for its characters, each actor still imbues their character with some much-needed charm. Neill sharpens his paleontologist everyman with a cynical edge, and William H. Macy is delightful as a blubbering divorced dad who is completely out of his depth. Even Nivola’s Billy, who is the quiet human antagonist of the film, is hard to dislike with his childlike fascination with Velociraptor eggs.
At 92 minutes, Jurassic Park III does not waste much breath setting the table. Likewise, the carefree and campy tone of the film is established quickly. There’s a scene at the beginning of the film where Dr. Alan Grant is addressing an auditorium about his research. After many years of arduous studying and a handful of near-death experiences, his paleontological endeavors have led him to one grand conclusion: If the dinosaurs hadn’t been wiped out by an asteroid all those years ago, Velociraptors, not humans, would be the intelligent species to rule the Earth. Beyond the hilarious image of a bunch of prehistoric turkeys walking around in an advanced society, the line is delivered with such conviction from Neill that you can’t help but laugh. And if that doesn’t convince you of the campy tone, there’s always the infamous “Alan” nightmare where Dr. Grant is haunted in a dream by a Velociraptor that speaks his name.
From here, Dr. Grant is lured out to the island by the Kirbys under the guise that he would be receiving future funding for his research. Immediately upon arrival to the island, the expected dinosaur carnage ensues. Several mercenaries that were hired for protection are quickly stomped into dinosaur food. But unlike the action in the first film, the mayhem of Johnston’s film lacks the suspenseful crescendo of something like water rippling in a glass. Though this isn’t necessarily a liability for the film. In fact, there’s great enjoyment in seeing a Spinosaurus roll a private jet around like a Lincoln Log or a Velociraptor pretending to be a decapitated head in a glass jar. And the inevitable jump scares and screams that follow are definitely something found more in an Evil Dead film than a Spielberg one.
Where the first Jurassic Park plays like a horror film in some of its best moments, Jurassic Park III forgoes those inclinations and instead focuses on the simple dinosaur pleasures. The Velociraptors that were once just cunning pack hunters are now upgraded to laying impressively complex traps. The route taken by our heroes in their escape from the Spinosaurus inexorably leads to an encounter with the T-rex from the first film. It could all have been such eye-roll-inducing schlock, but Johnston is no slouch of a director. With the severely underrated The Rocketeer in his back pocket and Captain America: The First Avenger in his near future, it’s clear that big studios saw some worth in his unpretentious, no-frills directing approach. And in an age where so much action is filmed close up, Johnston cleverly goes wider, emphasizing how prey-like the humans certainly appear to the dinosaurs.
And perhaps the silliest of all Jurassic Park III’s pleasures belongs to its ultimate earworm of a MacGuffin. Early in the film, Paul Kirby’s phone plays an unmistakable ringtone. After its set-up, each subsequent use of the ringtone essentially acts as an alarm blaring that the film’s next big set piece is about to begin. Whether it's ringing out from the belly of a Spinosaurus or during a climactic shipwreck, that pesky and obnoxious ringtone is undeniably one of the most memorable parts of the movie.
Whatever the reason may be, Jurassic Park III offers plenty for why it is immensely enjoyable as a guilty pleasure film. Oftentimes, failed trilogy cappers get lost to time and are left to be disliked and forgotten; just look at X-Men: Apocalypse or Blade: Trinity. In a few months, people will be able to see whether Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World: Dominion fulfills the promises made by those first two films, but in the meantime, they can always find some fun by paying Isla Sorna another visit.