Forget Texas, everything is bigger (and badder) in ‘Jurassic World’

Bigger. Louder. Scarier. More teeth. Just a handful of the directives handed down to the scientists charged with rebuilding “Jurassic World” since we last saw it on the big screen in 2001.

Genetically modifying test tube animals that have been extinct for millions of years? What can go wrong, right?

Apparently quite a bit.

In “Jurassic World,” Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) runs the day-to-day operations of the park, who is also tasked with watching/entertaining her nephews, Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins) for a long holiday retreat at the park.

While our young heroes are taking advantage of their VIP status and all it affords them in the park, the latest “asset” – the gargantuan Indominus Rex – outsmarts everyone and escapes its enclosure.

To save the 20,000+ park visitors and her nephews, while also staying alive long enough to stop the savage beast, Claire enlists the help of Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) – the man responsible for “taming” the park’s Velociraptor population.

In no particular order, here are a few things I took away from “Jurassic World”:

Chris Pratt is a movie star. He might not be the best actor to ever grace the big screen, but after starring turn as Star-Lord in last summer’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” this role and an upcoming rumored stint as Indiana Jones, he is officially a star. Also, he’s likeable on-screen and seems like a genuinely good guy off-screen.
As good as Pratt is, the dinosaurs are the real stars of the show. Not only in the fictitious park, but in the film. The strides that have been made since “Jurassic Park” have made the dinosaurs even bigger and badder.
How stupid are the people who keep going to this or the previous Jurassic Park? I don’t know about you, but one dinosaur attack would make that place forever off limits for me.

Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), Owen (Chris Pratt), Zach (Nick Robinson), and Gray (Ty Simpkins) watch on in terror in Jurassic World." (Photo Credit: Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment. © 2015 Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment, Inc.)

That’s not to say “Jurassic World” is flawless.

The main flaw with the film is that despite its PG-13 rating, it’s going to be a movie that children much younger will want to see. And, quite frankly, there are some parts that I don’t think would be appropriate for small children … unless they’re more mature and/or braver than I was at that point in my life.

While the previous films were also filled with death, destruction and dinosaur-fueled madness, the technology has taken it to a point where the dinosaurs are legitimately scary. There’s also a fair amount of blood and images of people being eaten whole by the beasts.

Having said all of that, “Jurassic World” is a lot of fun and serves as a proper continuation of a beloved movie series that was buried more than a decade ago.

★★★ 1/2 of ★★★★★