Movie - Jurassic World

Note:  There may be some spoilers throughout, but I will at least attempt to keep them at a minimum.  Fair warning in advance.

     So I went to see Jurassic World on opening day, as I was a huge fan of Jurassic Park when I was a kid.  I was about 12 when the first one came out, so the movie was really aimed at me and so it has stuck with me over the years.  I seem to remember it being the first real blockbuster that I went to the theater to see, and it really sparked my interest in movies in general.  I don't fully credit Jurassic Park as being THE movie that created my love for movies, but it certainly did play its part.
     Reminiscing aside, on to Jurassic World.
     So, Jurassic World picks up roughly 20 years after the original film, and in today's society, just seeing living dinosaurs aren't enough any longer.  The public wants more wow than just the fact that there are animals that have been extinct for millions of years, they want more teeth (as Bryce Dallas Howard and other characters point out many times throughout the movie).  And so they are creating several new species of dinosaurs, by splicing in DNA from various dinosaurs to make new dinosaurs that will excite the visitors at the park.  In doing so, they create a dinosaur called the Indominus Rex, which is a mix of several different dinosaurs, but the exact genetic makeup is considered confidential, and so nobody knows exactly what was used to create the new dinosaur.  Some would think this is a bad idea, such as Owen Grady (portrayed by one of my new favorite actors, Chris Pratt), but that doesn't stop them until they realize too late and the Indominus Rex escapes and starts reeking havoc across the island.
     The rest of the movie then follows the attempts to quell the outbreak before the visitors find out, and thus the park has to close down forever.  Obviously it wouldn't make for a very good movie if they were able to capture it before it made it to the park visitors, and so due chaos does in fact take place as they continue to bumble through their attempts to capture the dinosaur, and then continue to bumble through their attempts to even kill the dinosaur when they realize that capturing it is out of the question.  This includes quite the scene in which Owen and the movie's main antagonist (outside of the dinosaurs of course) Vic Hoskins (played by the always excellent Vincent D'Onofrio) decide to field test the velociraptors that they have been training to follow human commands.
     So that is the basic overview of the movie, and now for my thoughts.  I can honestly say that I really enjoyed the movie.  Like a lot, even.  I had my reservations going in, due to my love for the first movie, and so I tried to keep my expectations low, but this movie exceeded my expectations in every way.  There are many scenes and actions by the main cast of characters that are absolutely absurd, and would never happen in real life, but that is not what this movie is about.  This movie is about having a solid enough story to hold up a mostly non-stop action film, with fantastic visual effects, and solid performances by the cast.  Much like the two kids in the original film, the two kids in this film also find ways to get on your nerves and create more trouble than they should, but they hold up their end of the bargain, just like the rest of the cast.
     The film is pretty straight forward, nothing out of the ordinary and most of everything that happens is easy to see coming.  I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing, so long as the execution is there, and I thought that Jurassic World delivered on that in almost every aspect.  There was one twist that caught me off guard in particular, and was also my favorite scene, and that was the scene when they took the velociraptors out after the Indominus Rex.  In the interest of not giving away too many spoilers as I noted above, I will just let those that have seen the movie know what I'm talking about, and those that haven't, hopefully this peaks your interest enough to go see the film.  Although, based on the box office numbers for the movie, it would appear that there are more people that have seen it than haven't.
     Jurassic World is a fun, action filled, blockbuster in every aspect of the word.  If you are just looking for a fun movie, and for the most part, family friendly movie(I let my 11 year old and 7 year old watch the movie and they both enjoyed it), then look no further than Jurassic World.  Don't go expecting to have your mind blown, but if you just want to go and escape into a movie that doesn't require you to think to figure out the plot, than Jurassic World is the probably your best bet this summer.  If you enjoyed Jurassic Park, than you will enjoy the way that this movie pays homage to the original without stealing ideas scene for scene.  At the end of the day, Jurassic World, like life, finds a way (I couldn't make it through this review without a quote from Ian Malcolm, I am sorry).

My Rating for Jurassic World - 9/10