Dr. Ian Malcolm is not in Jurassic Park 3, but Dr. Alan Grant
(the reliable Sam Neill) returns instead. J3 finds Dr. Grant begging for funding
to continue his paleontology work in the field. With the introduction of the
Jurassic Park dinos, traditional paleontology is seen as old hat. After all, why
study bones in the dirt when you can watch real dinos running around? Grant's
attitude is that he is studying the REAL dinosaurs, which existed millions of
years ago, and not the genetic theme park freaks that were created by InGen.
Nevertheless, his pleas for funds fall on deaf ears, which threaten to make Dr.
Grant's research as extinct as the original dinosaurs. But enter Paul and Amanda
Kirby, (marvelously played with great chemistry by William H. Macy and Téa Leoni),
a wealthy couple who want to hire Dr. Grant to act as a tour guide for their
flyover of one of the Jurassic Park Islands. While Grant is understandably
reluctant to return, the money the Kirbys offer is just too good for him to
pass up. And so he brings along his assistant, Billy Brennan (Alessandro Nivola)
for a pleasant trip above the islands.
At least, that was what Grant thought. Once they're over the island, it becomes
clear to him that the Kirbys had an ulterior motive for bringing him along:
they're looking for their young son, Erik (Trevor Morgan), who had been reported
missing in the vicinity of the island. The Kirbys came prepared, hiring three
well-armed mercenaries, and two dino experts, but the mercs weren't prepared
for the ravenous dinos. And before you know it, the plane crashes, they lose
all of their weapons (as well as the mercs, who are the first to be chewed on),
and a huge, new dino, which is actually more ferocious than the T-Rex, is
breathing down their necks--not to mention those nasty Raptors are back in full
force, as well, and the members of our intrepid dino rescue team soon find
themselves in dire need of rescue as well.
Joe Johnston, a former special effects expert, directs Jurassic Park 3 and he
does a great job. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, J3 is the shortest of the
Jurassic series, but it is also a lean, mean movie that cuts right to the chase
(literally!). Gone are the pretentious ruminations of the first two Jurassic
films, instead J3 wisely sticks to its basic story of survival against the
dinosaurs, including a new threat, the pterodactyls--great winged dinos with a
nasty temperament. Laura Dern also returns as Ellie Sattler, and although her
role is smaller this time out, Johnston still makes the most of her screen time. Star
Trek fans will also note a cameo by an actress from one of the Trek series. The
DVD is loaded with the usual goodies, including the "making of" documentaries.
But unlike the first two Jurassic DVDs, J3 has a commentary by the special effects
team. --SF