Jurassic World | The Cynical Blockbuster

0:00 he's a device to slide through time the longer I travel the harder it is to cushion I got two charges one to get me here one to get me home well that's just lazy writing one of the more interesting results of big-budget franchises lasting as long as they have is that they've gotten a lot more self-aware having decades of criticism being levied at them these newer installments are often the first to point out the flaws in their series so it's big now genre satire genre homage genre deconstruction these are nothing new for what is new our franchise is taking aim at their own series we've seen films riff on or be inspired by Star Wars but now actual Star Wars films are joining in on the

0:46 fun the sequel trilogy is actually a pretty great primer in the ways of series can reflect upon its legacy the force awakens is textbook pastiche the last Jedi is a subversive deconstruction and the rise of Skywalker is of course parody somehow Palpatine returned by pointing up the tropes of their genre these films getting sort of get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to criticism for instance is Snoke a clever commentary on the one-dimensional domes of the series or is he just a Palpatine clone born to create conflict there is no correct answer as it varies from person to person and from film to film I made Snoke man rise of Skywalker

1:31 is such a brilliant parody the best of these self-aware blockbusters are the ones that take their Metacritic isms and use them as jumping-off points to explore newer interesting ideas this is where the r-rated x-men films really shined providing thrills that they're pg-13 predecessors never could not only had these movies transcended the older films in their series but they've also done so by building on the foundation laid out in these earlier films the jokes and Deadpool and the heart-wrenching drama in Logan are only enhanced by our shared history with this series the strengths of these films can only exist through the flaws that came before at their core these are films and filmmakers wrestling with their legacies identifying the good and bad elements of their past and trying to find a new way

2:19 to make them compelling but there is one blockbuster that points out the flaws in the genre only to indulge in the worst tropes and ideas in this series thus far a blockbuster that is aware of the issues that plague it series but then doubles down on these issues going forward welcome to Jurassic world you Jurassic world is a 2015 seagull in homage to Jurassic Park that does two new things with this series it provides a Metacritic of the Jurassic Park franchise and it finally opens John

3:06 Hammonds iconic Park these two new elements aren't exactly exclusive as the life of the park feeds into the film's meta commentary the core of this commentary is that this park feels different from the original John Hammonds guiding hand is no longer there so all the whimsy and wonder he brought to the park goes with it at first part was legit this lack of magic is most felt when the iconic theme music plays over a wide shot of the theme park the success of the island is more important than the wonder of these dinosaurs this is all intentional the film is deliberately undermining John Hammonds vision now John Hammonds character is one of the most interesting things about the first film in Michael Crichton's novel while Hammond is incredibly harsh and egotistical yes he loves these

3:53 dinosaurs but he mainly sees the park as a business investment cleaning to keep in the park alive even as his grandchildren are in danger it should also be pointed out that in the novel Hammond is killed by his own creations in the film dr. Hammond has portrayed far more sympathetically with the great Richard Attenborough injecting the role with a Walt Disney level charm while the character still has negative attributes namely his treatment of his employees Hammonds critical flaw turns out to be as infectious love for these dinosaurs this love blinds him to the troubles within his park ranging from the motives of his staff to what these dinosaurs really are his wish to share these wonders with the world puts his loved ones and himself in danger and he has

4:38 shown firsthand how bad an idea Jurassic Park really is there's one line in Jurassic Park 3 that sums up the conflict of the series rather nicely this was a stupid decision but I did it with the best intentions tensions the worst things imaginable would be done with the best intentions instead of being murdered by his own creation him and instead has to suffer a far worse fate he has to give up the park and by building this relationship out of love and wonder the film ultimately holds more meaning but this also sets up a roadblock for potential sequels the park is a bad idea everyone knows it's a bad idea and even the man who created it agrees that it

5:27 should never open not to endorse your Park so if we ever want to see the park in all its glory there can no longer be good intentions to jurassic world there's only one character from Jurassic Park that returns for this seagull it's not Dodger Grant or dr. Sattler Tim Lex or even the legendary Ian Malcolm no the only returning character is dr. Henry Wu now BD warns role in the first film is incredibly minor he has one seen as Jurassic park's head scientist that the guests meet on their tour in this scene Henry has very little characterization and is mainly there for expository dialogue he gets into an argument with a Malcolm over controlling the dinosaurs

6:15 chromosomes to keep them female but for the most part Henry is an eager scientist another man with good intentions about to do tremendous harm in Jurassic world he now has he black Steve Jobs turtleneck so yeah he's met one of the major flaws and Doctor Who's dinosaurs in the first film was as useful frog DNA to fill in the genetic code leading to Dinosaurs that can change genders any single sex environment the shortcuts taken to create the dinosaurs had unforeseen side effects eradicating all control they had over these animals by Jurassic world Henry has not learned his lesson instead his continued use of other species for the dinosaur hybrid the indominus rex is he kinda lists for the film's conflict the indominus rex is the nexus of the film's meta commentary on hollywood

7:01 sequels a monstrous being created only to profits like many sequels the indominus rex is built to please plenty of people shareholders sponsors and most importantly audiences the decisions to cater to all these people or turn it into such an effective killing machine the use of tree frogs to adapt the indominus rex to Jurassic world's tropical climate cause it to modulate its infrared output and trick Jurassic world security additionally the kennel fish used to speed up its growth development gifted the oh so crucial ability to camouflage instead of taking responsibility for this being dr. root defends his decisions shifting blame to Jurassic world's eccentric CEO to do

7:51 this you did bigger scarier cooler I believe is the word that you used in your memo just as dr. moon no longer resembles his past self mr. masrani is a shell of the man whose shoes he's filling echoing Hammonds iconic words without the weight or love behind them while not an outright terrible person his ignorance and negligence sets the park up for disaster he is a consumer of his own Park treating his helicopter rides as their own attraction this consumer mindset the desire for fun new toys leads to disaster with his latest product you cannot have an animal with exaggerated predator features without the corresponding behavioral traits I [Music]

8:37 don't know what I expected the last key player in this parks demise is the cost goons play glorious lead by Vincent D'Onofrio Hoskins character is only interested in the dinosaurs to use them for military operations throughout the narrative it is revealed that he is in cahoots with dr. rue to prepare a new dinosaur that will change the world of war the entire park is a cover for malicious intentions and when questioned on the morality of his actions Henri responds if I don't innovate somebody else will [Music] if Jurassic world was just a story I feel bad people doing bad things it wouldn't be that interesting so in order to combat the inherent cynicism of its

9:25 premise it gives a character arc to Claire if we look back at the first Jurassic Park for reference the character she has the most in common with is Donald Gennaro aka the blood-suckin lawyer like Gennaro the part of the Island Fair is most interested in are the profits as it's her job to make sure that Jurassic world remains financed and running the defining action for Gennaro was that when the park fell apart he abandoned Lexington to seek shelter resulting in his karmic death clear on the other hand has a bigger role in this story as the asset she's so keen on preserving breaks free while her nephews are in the park once this happens Claire instead finds herself in the role of dr. grant both of these characters

10:10 don't care much for children you don't know how old your nephews are yet when these kids are in danger they have to step up as if surrogate parental figures this is made explicit in Jurassic world by Zach and Grey's parents sending them on this trip to cover for their divorce while the film goes a bit too hard on Clara bean uber focused on her work I do think that this character turned is an interesting idea her world puts her family in jeopardy and she's forced to transform to keep them safe see the island as chaotic as it is is a metaphor for life the first Jurassic Park illustrates this rather beautifully as it throws something horrifying at these kids that they're entirely unprepared for

10:56 but then dr. grant steps in using the knowledge and skills at his disposal to evade them from harm from here on out this lovely trio is stuck together where the kids were lying on dr. grant to get them back to safety the three of them face off a series of obstacles with the kids stained by dr. grant side with this protection the kids get to interact with the dinosaurs learning that not all of them are bad some of these obstacles they're not ready for but Allen is still there to get them to safety finally Allen succeeds bringing the kids back to the visitors center and then leaves them for a brief moment in the kitchen but this is Jurassic Park

11:45 nowhere is safe for once the kids have to fend off these dinos on their own and using the skills obtained by staying with dr. grant they work together and make it out alive Jurassic Park is a metaphor for parenting and growing up creating a nurturing relationship for children in a chaotic environment so they can prepare for what the rest of the world has in store but in Jurassic world Zak and grey need no preparation [Music] through some pretty heavy plot armor they survived their first encounter with the indominus rex knowing that they're out there alone Claire ventures out to save them and live up to dr. grant before her but she doesn't the boys make their way back to her by themselves even worse Claire brings them back into danger after they

12:31 already made their way to the front of the park while the film tries to redeem Claire through her family it doesn't give them the time to build their dynamic so if these boys don't serve Claire story why are they even in this movie there are few things as nostalgic to me as the first Jurassic Park it's not only a film from my childhood but one about looking to the past and growing up Jurassic world aims to tap into our collective nostalgia mainly by viewing this newer Park through the eyes of Zack and gray every scene with them is merely there to indulge in the glory of this

13:17 park the narrative tells us that this park is bad but there seems showcase that it's amazing this could set us up for a reveal like the first film but not once do these kids question the attractions they're witnessing yes the adults got caught up in the whimsy of the first park but they also pointed out the cracks in the foundation leading up to the eventual chaos these kids they'll point out the problems because they're kids and they're not here to serve the story the biggest example of this is their journey to the first Jurassic Park while on the surface they're building up their brotherly bond or something a good cry in reality this scene is only there to reminisce in this iconic imagery ask yourself what does this scene do besides remind you of the first film

14:02 despite Gray's genius knowledge of dinosaurs not once does he say anything revealing about them but if there's one character more connected with the dinosaurs it would be now that we've gotten all of Jurassic world's characters out of the way we can finally talk about its star Owen Grady now Owen is a bit of an anomaly for the Jurassic Park franchise this is a series at its best when children aren't trouble land or screaming plus a our attempts to confront the dinosaurs seldom work so it's weird to have a full-on Indiana Jones esque action hero at the center of this movie this decision is further complicated by

14:47 the casting of Chris Pratt now Pratt has made his fame by being the lovable goofball part of his charm is seeing Andy from Parks and Rec in a superhero blockbuster most of his bigger roles maintain his silliness often using Pratt's character to poke at the conventions of typical male action stars if not outright critiquing them and the prophecy states that you're the most important most talented most interesting and most extraordinary person in the universe that's you right yes that's me this is not the case here as Pratt has transformed into all the conventions his previous roles lampooned whereas those characters go on journeys of maturity

15:33 Owen is perfect from his first frame the character in Jurassic world that resembles Pratt's other roles the most is Larry played by Jake Johnson in a film about deconstructing the Jurassic Park franchise there he feels like he should be more of a central figure he's a fan of the first film or park and it's critical of the directions given by his bosses what did he win Charlie do you put that in the brochure he's a fun character and provides some of the funniest gags in the movie but these gags are rendered useless by Owens macho awesomeness which is ultimately a regression of Jurassic park's more progressive ideals we can discuss sexism in situation can I get back with you I am

16:21 never leaving you as long as you live the thing I take biggest issue with is O&B in the moral center of this film whereas the first film had multiple varying perspectives each one adding new insights to the park Jurassic world only ever has two perspectives Owen who is always right evacuate the island and corporate who is always wrong never reopen you can view this film as a flat arc narrative with Owen berating corporate influence from these dinosaurs but that fails to account for his own crucial flaw he's complicit with this system Owen isn't a particularly deep character he doesn't have any big aspirations or goals he seemingly just really likes dinosaurs so he works at Jurassic world the film could give him an arc about learning to let go of these dinosaurs

17:07 but it never once challenges him on his blatant hypocrisy I don't control the Raptors it's a relationship stay away from my animals while Owen may not think he owns the dinosaurs he does think of them as family so and of anyone he has the best chance of doing so this is put to the test when Nick Hoskins forces the Raptors to take on the indominus rex in the most revealing line in the film he tells oh anything this is happening with or without you Owen is the moral Center the audience standard and he's forced to comply with bad intentions in order to salvage a terrible situation I can think of no more apt comparison to modern blockbuster filmmaking despite his years of experience with these creatures the

17:53 raptors are not under his control the secret DNA in the indominus rex being part Raptor causes them to turn on their humans now this is the most interesting set piece in the film especially as the cameras on the Raptors heads are used for great dramatic effect for Owen this creates a major moment of reflection questioning his bond with his Raptors and whether they even care about him but that reflection blows up before our eyes in the end the film reaffirms Owens bond by him taking off blues camera their bond was real the Raptors can be controlled and the problem was never with Owen it was with

18:46 another negative influence since the beginning of cinema there have been mad scientists and monsters creatures and special effects built to terrorize the world an audience that deep down we secretly love no genre has more love than movie monsters it's why I'm so drawn to the work of Gilmer del Toro who abused so much passion into every design each of his monsters is a vessel for fear and meaning del Toro in particular tell stories of hope men and monsters and how our fear in monsters pales in comparison to his fear of men Jurassic world shares this fear as its central Monster is made by bad intentions it causing havoc isn't a bug it's the core design this thing murders and dr. Wu doesn't care that's unfortunate

19:32 as the focal point for the film's meta commentary the indominus rex is the cool but empty sequel she's corporate interests manifested into a monster yet despite their desire for a cool product nothing about the indominus rex ends up cool its skin is pale gray its roar sounds more like a screech and it has an unsettling hanging jaw her appearance is more off-putting than intimidating she's the sec result of a scrambled identity this is a criticism in fact the idea behind the indominus rex is the strongest one in the film there's an interesting story with this dinosaur a win as a character works the best when he is psychoanalyzed in this beast trying to understand and predict its behavior like a detective thriller as

20:19 though one follows its destructive trail he discovers that it's a truly damaged being its rampage is born from its apparent alienation this creature has no idea what it is and only by making its way up the food chain can she figure it out she knows nothing but pain and destruction spreading these things to everyone else on the island and the film has nothing but contempt for her this creature embodies the spirit of soulless sequels so the only way to combat it is with the hardy spirit of the classic I take no issue with this and saving her majesty the t-rex for this final battle is a very smart choice what I do take issue with is a scene becoming a pure celebration of these icons using the

21:05 indominus rex as a punching bag just because an embodies and was made by bad intentions doesn't make it evil the villain in Frankenstein isn't Frankenstein's monster it was always Frankenstein this story makes a false association between the creator and the creation using all its pent up anger on the creation while the Creator gets away scot-free cuz remember there must be a sequel I'm not asking for much a moment of sympathy weary knowledge how much pain this beam has went through but instead its death is a gag [Applause] because the scene was never about the tragedy of the indominus rex it was

21:50 about how at first part was legit and with that the film's core metaphor fades away to the film's true message the film sacrificed its own story to celebrate the original good stories breed greater stories whenever I watch a good movie I'm motivated to make my own story and see if I can make it just as compelling with these franchises we want to see the same thing we want to see filmmakers inspired by their predecessors to try to make something better but Jurassic world knows it can't top Jurassic Park so it does the next best thing it reminds you that it can't be topped and it's scary how effective this cynical technique can

22:36 be despite the end product I don't think the filmmakers made this film insidiously it's clear from the behind the scenes footage that Colin Trevorrow and Co made this film to tell their own story in the end Jurassic world is a film made with the best intentions thanks everyone for tuning in turns out I had a lot to say about this series and if this video does well perhaps I can talk more about the sequel till then make sure subscribed with notifications support us on patreon and take care [Music]