By Drew Dietsch
| Published
There is a certain school of thought that proclaims Jurassic Park has never produced a worthwhile sequel. I’m not here to argue the merits of every one of these movies, but let it be said that hardly any movie at all measures up when placed next to Jurassic Park. The best Star Trek movie is a pile of triceratops dung next to Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s groundbreaking novel.
I’m also not here to talk about The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a movie I think isn’t bad but doesn’t quite work the way it wants to. And finally, I’m not here to talk about any of the Jurassic World movies because those are all factory-made novelty popcorn buckets as film endeavors.
No, I’m here to say I’ve been defending Jurassic Park III for years and it’s getting exhausting hearing people say it’s a bad movie.
Back to Basics
I can understand why Jurassic Park III was looked down upon during its initial release. After Spielberg returned and pulled yet another “Whoops! Too dark!” sequel with The Lost World, the franchise made a conscious turn into being more straightforward and adventurous with the third entry. It also brought back Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant and he would be a much more centralized character than he’d even been in the first film.
There was also a clear directive that Jurassic Park III get back to having a focal child character after the lesser supporting role Ian Malcolm’s daughter played in the previous film. So, the entire plot of the third entry centers around a kid who goes missing on Isla Sorna. Already, I can see audiences in 2001 thinking the franchise was softening itself up or pulling back in order to attract more young viewers.
Instead, Jurassic Park III brought the series back to a much simpler kind of story than The Lost World’s corporate takeover mishegoss. Audiences often view “simpler” as “lesser” with stories, but it’s that pulp simplicity that has actually made Jurassic Park III a lot easier to revisit than any of the other sequels.
Silly and Better For It
One of the most ridiculed scenes in Jurassic Park III is when Alan has a dream and a raptor talks to him. It’s obvious why people would see this as “a bridge too far” in their serious art about sci-fi dinosaurs, but it’s become my favorite moment in the movie. Not just because it is a wild and wacky choice to make, but because it kind of sums up the entire movie for me when I recommend it to people.
Make no mistake, I’m not being ironic in my appreciation of the “Alan!” scene. It’s absurd but not without creative merit or success. An important plot thread in Jurassic Park III centers around how the velociraptors communicate with one another. Alan has recently learned this information and has become fascinated with this research, but it also brings up traumatic memories of hearing the raptors back in the park.
So, when a raptor talks to Alan in his dream, it’s not just a silly idea. I mean, it is a silly idea but it’s one with thematic backing. So much of Jurassic Park III operates in that fashion. Its ideas are often childlike in their simplicity –– “What if there was a dinosaur even BIGGER and BADDER than the T. rex?” –– but their execution is impressive, entertaining, and backed up in the script with themes and relevant character motivations.
The Best Jurassic Sequel
I recognize Jurassic Park III isn’t some misunderstood masterpiece, but I’ll also argue it’s the best Jurassic Park sequel by a wide margin. It’s the one that feels the easiest to just pop on and enjoy thanks to its more standalone nature (the events of The Lost World barely rate a single mention in the movie). It delivers the base pleasures of the franchise and doesn’t have lofty ambitions unlike all the other sequels.
Jurassic Park III is just a good dinosaur adventure movie. Is it a great Jurassic movie? I’d argue the only one of those that is great at that criteria is the first film. Still, I hope posting this will get a few more Jurassic Park III fans to feel it’s safe to come out of their caves. Is anyone else going to defend this movie or am I the only one out here? I’m starting to lose my breath.
