"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" is Why We Go to the Movies
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I recently took my eight year old son to go see "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom". I should tell the readers up front that this is the first Jurassic Park/World movie I have seen in the theater since the original Steven Spielberg film way back in 1993. I did not care for that first film too much (not enough dino action), I watched the second one on video tape, yes it was a long time ago, and I skipped the third one (big mistake, "Jurassic Park 3" is awesome in it's terribleness and gore). The first "Jurassic World" seemed non essential, and movie critic extraordinaire Ty did not like it. However, I later watched "Jurassic World" on HBO Go, and that is why I took my eight year old son to see "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom".
I will not give a review, or plot breakdown, for "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" because it does not matter. If you want to see the movie you will, and tons of people want to see the movie. The critics, mostly old white men, have their takes, but the critics are becoming less relevant. Dare I say that film criticism is becoming extinct? The Jurassic Park/World movies follow a similar blueprint. They are movies about man creating dinosaurs, dinosaurs going crazy, and man being like 'why are the dinosaurs so crazy'. In the words of my eight year old, the movie is about hubris. There is no great shock and awe going into a Jurassic Park/World movie in 2018. You know what you are going to get.
Yet my eight year old did not know what he was going to get. He barely paid attention when his mother and I showed him the 1993 Spielberg film. He was not in awe of the brachiosaurus herd, the T-rex, or the velociraptors. He had seen more impressive effects on PBS. My son needed the dinosaurs to be cool, and dangerous. After the ridiculousness, and cartoony awesomeness of "Jurassic World", I decided that "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" might be right up his ally
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" made the dinosaurs cool, menacing, and essential viewing. My eight year old would sit up straight and commit a laser like focus to the screen when one of these behemoths would occupy the screen. He did not care about the majesty of their presence, he wanted to see these beast tear some stuff up. For a child born in the 21st century, Jurassic Park/World movies are the modern equivalent of monster movies from the past.
We fawn over movies like the original "King Kong", "Jaws" or the "Godzilla" films of the past. These movies are the standard we hold all monster movies to. The new Jurassic World movies will be the monster movie standard for the younger generation. My eight year old had a great time at the theater because he saw some realistic looking monsters tear up the screen for two hours. He fell in love with the big screen experience because of "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom". He will go back to the movie theater because of the awesome experience he had at "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"
We go to the movies to be entertained. Some of us like drama. Some of us, a very small some of us, like depressing and dry drama. Most of us like action and adventure. The exciting movies is what makes us fall in love with the theater experience. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" is the kind of movie we sit our butts in the movie theater to see. I remember the awe and excitement of seeing Indiana Jones out run the boulder in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". My eight year old son will remember the epic battle between the Indoraptor and the classic velociraptor in "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom". He will take that excitement into the next movie he sees. That is why we will continue to pay the idiotic prices to go to the movie theater. It is for the children.
RD
RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His only complaint about the movie is it needed more Dr. Ian Malcolm. Jeff Goldblum needs to find a way.
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