Last Friday was a day of firsts for me. It was my first time seeing any of the Jurassic Park franchise, and my first time viewing a film in an IMAX theatre. Safe to say, both of these were very good experiences.
Let’s start with the IMAX theatre, home to the biggest cinema screen I have ever seen in my life. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a picture as the room was too dark, but do a quick Google search to see exactly what I mean (I visited the CineStar theatre at Potsdamer Platz). I sat right at the back which, in my opinion, is essential for a IMAX movie. I really don’t know how people sat right up the front. The seating arrangements were more like a concert venue so there was no fear of being blocked by a 6ft tall man in front. It was €16 to see the film in 3D and I was rather skeptical of this price at first. but IMAX is about a million times better than traditional 3D viewing and definitely worth the money.
I don’t know how I managed to do it but I spent most of my life avoiding any films from the Jurassic Park franchise. I wouldn’t have been very eager to see Jurassic World either but I went along anyway to accompany somebody who really wanted to see. It was well worth it. First thing’s first, if there are any of you reading who find yourself in the same boat that I was, you don’t need to have seen any of the previous films beforehand. It is good to have a general idea of the back story regarding how they found the fossils and about the original park, but anything more than that is not needed. Jurassic World can be appreciated as a stand alone film.
My next fear was that the film would be too boyish for me, especially considering the claims made before its release that Jurassic World would have ‘more teeth’. I was mistaken. There certainly was a lot of action throughout the film but, at least in my opinion, there wasn’t too much to alienate the film to specific types of viewers. Although not the strongest story line a film has ever seen, there was one which nonetheless kept a certain structure to the plot. However, at times, it did seem that the dinosaurs had more personality that the human characters, only a few witty jokes and a weak love story kept them from becoming entirely two-dimensional.
One thing that really stood out for me personally was the relationship between human and animals. Jurassic World seemed to scream directly at me that we really shouldn’t mess with nature (the film mostly bases itself around a genetically modified dinosaur created specifically to attract more people to the park). I felt an underlying sadness throughout the film at the entrapment of wild animals. It reminded me of a zoo and how more often than not, the animals look really sad.
To end this post before it becomes one regarding animal rights, I better say that Jurassic World is most certainly worth a night out at the cinema. If you can go to see it in IMAX 3D, even better! Let me know what you think if you have already seen this film.
Joyful Antidotes 