Jurassic Park III — Is It Good?
Jurassic Park III (2001) was directed by Joe Johnson after a development that consisted of several script ideas and drafts. Stephen Spielberg decided he was done with any directing work on the franchise after the success of the first two films and stayed on as an executive producer while working on A.I: Artificial Intelligence (2001) (even though nobody saw him on set, an empty chair the only evidence he might appear.)
With Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park and The Lost World books, not writing another novel for source material, there was room for manoeuvre with the story. The first idea of a script was proposed by Spielberg and consisted of Sam Neill’s Alan Grant alone on Isla Sorna studying the dinosaurs and becoming like a Robinson-Crusoe character. However, Joe Johnson disagreed that Alan Grant would want to go back on the island of his own volition after the events of the first movie.
There were also other ideas spinning about, from dinosaurs killing people on the mainland to a group of teenagers marooned on Isla Sorna, which would become the premise for the Netflix series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
The move went through several different rewrites before, finally, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor wrote the bulk of what we see on screen. However, they were unhappy with the amount of dialogue and jokes that were taken out in favour of a more action-heavy movie. The movie started production without a finished script and ended production without a finished script.
The lack of a completed script seemed like an issue with William H. Macy who asked the pertinent question, “Who launched a $100 million ship without a rudder and who’s getting fired for this.”
What we got was a basic plot around Paul and Amanda Kirby (William H. Macy and Tea Leoni) enlisting the help of Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and his assistant Billy Brennan (Alessandro Nivola) to be their guides during a flyover of Isla Sorna. Little do they know that they’ve been tricked and are actually there to look for the Kirby’s son Eric (Trevor Morgan). Their plane crashes and they must contend with Velociraptors, Pteranodons and the massive Spinosaurus.
There are memorable moments in Jurassic Park III. The initial plane crash hits the audience with action sequence after action sequence until we finally catch a breath about 20 minutes later, and then it all starts up again. The velociraptors are now smarter and offer something different to the previous two films. The Pteranodons are also a great threat, and the aviary scene is entertaining. Some of these scenes were taken from Michael Crichton’s source material for the first two books that didn’t make it into their respective films.
Jurassic Park III contains a very likeable and interesting cast. Sam Neill is on top form; William H. Macy translates his performance very well to an all-out action film and Tea Leoni balances annoying and sympathetic well enough that we are routing for them.
There is differing evidence regarding the mood of the actors on set and how they see this film. Apparently, Sam Neill had a ball, Alessandro Nivola didn’t feel there was enough depth to his character of Billy, Tea Leoni was getting bruises left, right and centre, and William H. Macy either loved it or hated it depending on what article you read. I get the feeling that no actor likes to start, or even finish, a production without a completed script as it adds to stress levels and can impede character motivation and development.
It is by far the shortest in the series and is a very entertaining way to spend an hour and a half. It certainly does not outstay its welcome unlike Jurassic Park: Dominion (2022) which is a full hour longer than Jurassic Park III. In a time where movies were getting longer and longer, we see some restraint.
We are still at the stage where the dinosaurs are a combination of CGI and models and therefore it looks, in my opinion, a lot better than the Jurassic World movies. The locations are stunning, and the set-pieces are exciting. The dinosaurs look great and there is still a great care to use the models where possible. Stan Winston’s team do remarkable work to make them look lifelike and give them a character that CGI cannot give. The dinosaur special effects are better than those of films that came later in the decade such as Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2006).
There are some issues though. You wouldn’t get great odds for predicting who’s going to get eaten. It’s predictable who will live and die, there is a complete lack of jeopardy, and even Billy’s heroic death comes to nothing as he appears to have been inexplicably found by the Navy and the Marines before being reunited with Grant. You also need to suspend your belief when it comes to Eric being alone on the island for two months without being eaten, or what could have killed the crew of the boat in the opening scene.
The film doesn’t breathe and just feels like it is rushing from action sequence to action sequence at times. It doesn’t contain the excellent exposition and philosophical questions of the first film, and as Nivola complains, it does lack some great character development. There really isn’t the space or the time to have a dinner table scene explaining the ethics of genetics and human interference like the first film.
The closest we get to a quiet moment is when Alan drops off to sleep and dreams about a raptor on the plane. Or when Grant chides Billy for stealing the raptor eggs telling him that, “Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions.” It’s a shame we don’t have more dialogue like that streaming through the film.
Also, although it is short and that is a good thing, it lacks a real final act. The resolutions with the Spinosaurus and the Velociraptors are abrupt and feel like they conclude prematurely. The Spinosaurus arc concludes with an immense water battle and then the dinosaur just ends up walking away from a fire. That Spinosaurus has literally broken through 20-feet steel fences to hunt these humans, you’d wonder why he just gives up.
They then find their way back to the beach when they are confronted by raptors at the beach in pursuit of their eggs. The raptors get their eggs back, the military comes to save the gang and we have a couple of reconciliations before the credits roll. The ending is so abrupt that you think someone lost the third act and just didn’t tell anyone. There were ideas such as the Spinosaurus fighting the marines and the Pteranodons attacking the helicopter, but these were dropped due to budget constraints.
However, is it better to have no ending at all or to tack one on like Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes (2001) film that was released that same summer?
Case For:
It’s a very entertaining and relatively short popcorn movie.
The cast are likeable and interesting choices.
The dinosaurs look great and there is still a great care to use models where possible.
Case Against:
It could do with taking a breath and letting the audience take a breath.
A lack of unpredictability and jeopardy.
The lack of a conclusive third act.
What the critics Said:
“At its best, it whips itself up into a nice, scary lather, but it shrivels to nothing between the set pieces, in an excess of fog, token bits of talk, and an absence of genuine, elemental awe.” Tim Robey of The Telegraph
“True, the film offers little new, but it’s still stirring family entertainment.” Wally Hammond of Time Out
“Too bad the script doesn’t extend the same courtesy to the actors, who are saddled with dialogue neither man nor beast could respond to.” Peter Travers of Rolling Stone
Conclusion:
You cannot deny this is an entertaining film and it is different to the Spielberg Jurassic movies. It has its own identity and takes chances. Enjoy the design of the dinosaurs and the work of Stan Winston and his team before CGI took over everything. Although dismissed early on and earning a somewhat unfair Razzie nomination for Worst Remake or Sequel, the movie is retrospectively seen as an enjoyable and exciting B-movie. Sam Neill even defends it saying it’s a “pretty damn good” film. It is worth a watch.