Movie Thoughts: Jurassic Park III (2001)

• Released: July 16th, 2001
• Directed by: Joe Johnston
• Running time: 1h 32min
• Rating 3/5

Synopsis

Dr. Grant is convinced to go to Isla Sorna with a rich couple with ulterior motives. This turns into a rescue mission of their son, Eric, who is stranded on the island.

My Thoughts

I used to dislike movie more than I do now. I still don't think it's great, but honestly it's an okay survival flick. 

It does have the characters still making some pretty stupid decisions, though, like in the second movie. If I were Grant, nothing could've convinced me to go to another dinosaur-inhabited island. He was tricked into this pretty easily and the couple characters also just make stupid decisions. 

There are some pretty okay action scenes or scenes with suspense in this flick, however I don't think it really has the memorability of something like the first two movies. Even if I don't like the second movie all that much, it still has some pretty unique and cool set pieces. This movie just isn't all that memorable. We have Pterosaurs now, which is something, but even then I don't think that that scene is all that cool.

I do like the addition of the Spinosaurus, it's a badass creature and seeing it take on a T. rex was cool. However, again I don't think that the Spino has the same memorability as the T. rexes or raptors in the first movie.

Some of the dinosaurs also look a bit different in this movie compared to the first two (especially the raptors), which feels a bit like a retcon because the raptors didn't look like this before? Not sure. The design is cool and all, but it looks confusing from an in-universe perspective. 

If I do have to compliment this movie, though, it'll be for the improved CGI and the fact that it still uses a lot of good practical effects. Honestly at some points it was even hard to tell which was which, and that's something I can appreciate.

But overall I just don't think that this is a movie that's as good as the first and as memorable as the first two. It's not bad, either, if you want a dinosaur-action flick this is still a decent movie, but it's not all that great.