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Jurassic Park III
Movie poster with a logo at center of a skeleton of a Spinosaurus, with its mouth agape and hands lifted up. The background of the logo is red, and right below it is the film's title. A shadow covers a large portion of the movie poster in the shape of a flying Pteranodon. At the bottom of the image are the credits and release date.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoe Johnston
Written byPeter Buchman
Alexander Payne
Jim Taylor
Produced byLarry J. Franco
Kathleen Kennedy
Steven Spielberg
StarringSam Neill
William H. Macy
Tea Leoni
Alessandro Nivola
Trevor Morgan
CinematographyShelly Johnson
Edited byRobert Dalva
Music byDon Davis
John Williams
(Themes)
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • July 18, 2001 (2001-07-18)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$93 million[1]
Box office$368,780,809[2]

Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction adventure film and the third of the Jurassic Park franchise. It is the only film in the series that is neither directed by Steven Spielberg (though produced by his production company, Amblin Entertainment) nor based on a book by Michael Crichton, though numerous scenes in the movie were taken from Crichton's two books, Jurassic Park and The Lost World. The film takes place on Isla Sorna in the Central American Pacific coast, the island from the second film, after a divorced couple tricks Dr. Alan Grant into helping them find their son.

After the success of Jurassic Park, Joe Johnston asked Steven Spielberg if he could direct the film adaptation of The Lost World, the sequel to Jurassic Park. While Spielberg wanted to do the project, he promised to give the helm of the next sequel to Johnston, if there was to be one. Spielberg stayed involved with the film by becoming the executive producer. Three years after the release of The Lost World, production of the third film began in August 2000. Although a commercial success, the film was released to mixed reviews.

Plot

Eric Kirby (Trevor Morgan) and his mother's boyfriend, Ben Hildebrand (Mark Harelik), go on a parasailing trip off the coast of Isla Sorna. After passing through a mist off the coast, it is discovered that the two men piloting the boat have gone missing, causing the boat to collide with rocks on the shoreline. The parasailers unhook their line from the boat and try to control their descent to the uninhabited island, which has been declared a restricted area for quite some time.

The film then transitions to another scene with Alan Grant explaining to Ellie Sattler's son, Charlie (in his sandbox), that carnivorous dinosaurs like fighting with each other rather than with herbivores, while Charlie continues to make his toy Triceratops and Brontosaurus bite each other. It is then revealed that Satler and Grant were never married, and that she is in fact married to a lawyer named Mark.

Back at Grant's dig site in Snake Water, Grant's assistant Billy Brennan is shown digging up a velociraptor skeleton (similar to that in the start of the first film), whilst flirting with one of the student paleontologists. Later in one of the research tents, Billy reveals the replica of a Velociraptor's resonating chamber he created after scanning a raptor skull. Grant is then approached by Paul (William H. Macy) and Amanda Kirby (Téa Leoni), an allegedly wealthy couple who ask Dr. Grant to escort them on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. Grant initially turns them down, but changes his mind after the Kirbys offer to fund his dig.

The plane carrying Grant, Billy, the Kirbys and three mercenaries arrives at Isla Sorna. Dr. Grant is surprised when the pilots tell the group that they will be landing, and starts to revolt before being knocked unconscious by one of the mercenaries, Cooper (John Diehl). Grant later regains consciousness when Amanda uses a megaphone to call out to somebody in the jungle, and a roar is heard followed by several gunshots. Grant determines that the roar is not that of a Tyrannosaurus, but of something bigger. The mercenaries Nash (Bruce A. Young) and Udesky (Michael Jeter) emerge shouting that they have to leave. As the plane starts down the runway, Cooper appears. Suddenly, a Spinosaurus dashes in front of the plane, killing Cooper and grazing the leaving airplane, which then crashes into the jungle. The Spinosaurus attacks the plane and kills Nash before the remains fall to the ground. Grant, Billy, Paul, Amanda and Udesky flee the scene as the Spinosaurus inspects the fuselage. They then run into a young male Tyrannosaurus, which pursues them back into the Spinosaurus. The two predators proceed to battle each other and the Spinosaurus kills the Tyrannosaurus by snapping its neck as the group escapes.

After finding some peace, Grant learns that the Kirbys are actually a divorced couple of small businessmen in search of their son Eric, who was stranded on the island along with Amanda's fiancé Ben eight weeks prior. The group decides to follow Grant's decision of heading towards the coast in hopes of being rescued. As they travel through the jungle, they discover a tangled parasail with Ben's skeleton and a video camera containing footage of his last moments with Eric.

The group comes across a derelict InGen laboratory. After exploring the compound, they are attacked by a Velociraptor. The group traps the raptor, which calls for help as the group leaves the buildling. Outside, they are pursued by the Velociraptor's pack, and Udesky is left behind. The alpha male raptor snaps his spinal cord, killing him. Grant is also separated, but is rescued from the raptors by Eric, who uses gas grenades to disperse the pack. The group reunites, but is separated by a spiked barrier fence. During this time, Eric hears the ringtone of his father's satellite phone. It is then revealed that sound is emanating from within the very Spinosaurus that attacked them at the landing strip. On the verge of being eaten, Grant and Eric manage to escape through a hole in the fence and the pursuit ends as they escape into a building.

Inside, it is discovered that Billy stole two eggs from the raptor nest in hopes of using them to fund their digging. Grant and berates Billy as being "no better than the people who built this place." Grant decides to dispose of the eggs into the river, but changes his mind and decides to store them in his bag instead. The group then sets out for a boat docked at a nearby river. They pass through a massive aviary dome, and are attacked by Pteranodons. Billy is presumed to be killed when he rescues Eric from a nest of hungry dinosaur chicks, leaving Grant in a state of remorse. The group escapes onto the boat, but while navigating down the river, a phone ring is heard. They find some Spinosaurus dung, on which the satellite phone is recovered.

As the survivors travel down the river, the Spinosaurus emerges from the water and attacks them. Grant attempts to call Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), but can only yell "The river! Site B!" as the boat submerges. Paul distracts the Spinosaurus by climbing a construction crane, while Grant shoots a flare which ignites the boat's spilled oil, driving away the dinosaur.

The next morning, the group is close to shore when the Velociraptor pack reappears. Grant delivers the eggs and uses Billy's raptor resonating chamber to confuse the pack. The sound of an approaching helicopter causes the raptors to leave peacefully with the eggs. On the beach, Marine helicopters and infantry arrive. The party boards the helicopter where they are reunited with Billy, who is seriously injured but still alive. As the helicopter departs, three Pteranodons are seen flying off in the distance to which Grant suggests that they are searching for new nesting grounds. The film ends with the pteranodons soaring majestically into the clouds.

Cast

Main article: List of Jurassic Park characters
  • Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant: World-famous paleontologist who survived the incident on Isla Nublar and has since developed an extensive and groundbreaking theory concerning raptor intelligence and returns to his position of main protagonist after being absent from the second movie.
  • William H. Macy as Paul Kirby: The owner of a hardware store who poses as a wealthy businessman in order to lure Grant onto Isla Sorna to help search for their son.
  • Téa Leoni as Amanda Kirby: Paul's ex-wife who accompanies the group to Site B, feeling guilty for having lost Eric.
  • Alessandro Nivola as Billy Brennan: A young and overly enthusiastic graduate student from Grant's digsite.
  • Trevor Morgan as Eric Kirby: The 12-year-old son of Paul and Amanda who ends up stranded on Site B for eight weeks, and must fend for himself without Ben Hildebrand.
  • Michael Jeter as Udesky: A meek but sardonic mercenary "booking agent" who travels with his two associates to the island.
  • Bruce A. Young as M.B. Nash: The mercenary pilot.
  • John Diehl as Cooper: A tough mercenary.
  • Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Degler, nee Sattler: A paleobotanist who also survived Isla Nublar and also returns to the movie but as a minor character this time.
  • Taylor Nichols as Mark Degler: Ellie's husband and an expert in treaty law at the US State Department.
  • Mark Harelik as Ben Hildebrand: Amanda's reckless boyfriend.
  • Julio Oscar Mechoso as Enrique Cardoso: The owner and operator of the illegal "Dino-Soar" para-sailing service, which offers to take tourists close to Site B so they can see the dinosaurs.
  • Blake Michael Bryan as Charlie Degler: The three-year-old son of Ellie and Mark, who thinks of Alan Grant as "The Dinosaur Man".
  • Sarah Danielle Madison as Cheryl Logan: A graduate student who flirts with Billy at Grant's dig site in Montana.
  • Linda Park as Hannah: Ellie's assistant whose duties include dealing with Tom, Ellie's editor.

Production

Joe Johnston had been interested in directing the sequel to Jurassic Park and approached friend Steven Spielberg about the project. While Spielberg wanted to direct the first sequel, he agreed that if there was ever a third film, Johnston could direct.[3] The third film was greenlit in August 1999 and was based on a story by Steven Spielberg, featuring Alan Grant after having lived in a tree on one of the islands and studied the dinosaur population. Johnston never had any concrete concept for the third installment, other than stating the film would be "more stand-alone" and feature a lot of flying reptiles.[4] Before that, Craig Rosenberg wrote a script involving teenagers who get marooned on Isla Sorna.[5]

New writers were brought in to scribe a story involving Pteranodons escaping from Site B and causing a rash of mysterious killings on the mainland, which was to be investigated by Alan Grant and a number of other characters including Billy Brennan, a naturalist named Simone, a tough military attaché, and wealthy Paul Roby, his teenage son Miles, and love interest. Grant's group was to track the Pterosaurs back to Site B and crash on the island, while a parallel investigation was carried out on the mainland. Supposedly, the aviary sequence and laboratory set piece were much longer and more complex, including raptors stealthily entering the hatchery while the team spent the night. Sets, costumes, and props were built for this version, before Johnston threw out the completed script five weeks before filming in order to pursue the "rescue mission" plot, which was suggested by David Koepp.[3] Johnston said that the script was never finished during production - "We shot pages that eventually went into the final script but we didn't have a document".[5] Also during the pre-production phase, concept artists created advertising for the film using a number of working titles including Jurassic Park: Extinction and Jurassic Park: Breakout.[6]

Production began on August 30, 2000[7] without a finished script, with filming in California, Oahu, and Molokai.[8] Although it is an original story, not based on a Michael Crichton novel, it does contain minor scenes from Crichton's Jurassic Park and The Lost World novels that were not featured in the film versions, such as the Pteranodon aviary and the use of the boat. In a change from the first two films, Spinosaurus replaced T. Rex as the main antagonist.[9] As to why Spinosaurus was chosen for such a role, Johnston stated, "A lot of dinosaurs have a very similar silhouette to the T-Rex... and we wanted the audience to instantly recognize this as something else."[10] Baryonyx was originally considered to be the "big bad" before Spinosaurus was chosen. Within film dialog, Billy interprets the animal encountered as a Baryonyx or Suchomimus, but Dr. Grant corrects his analysis based on its sail.[3] The origin of the Spinosaurus is also a mystery as Ingen did not clone the Spinosaurus. The Spinosaurus in the film however is slightly inaccurate, particularly in the structure of its head and dentition, which more closely match that of Suchomimus than Spinosaurus. Additionally, the film perpetuates the error of its two predecessors with regards to the size of its Velociraptors; they are roughly two to three times their actual size and much closer to the Deinonychus.

The special effects used for the dinosaurs are a mixture of animatronics and CGI. Due to new discoveries and theories in the field of paleontology, the portrayal of several dinosaurs differs from that of the previous two films. Discoveries that suggest that Velociraptors were feathered prompted the addition of quill-like structures on the head and neck of male Velociraptors in the film. "We've found evidence that Velociraptors had feathers, or feather-like structures, and we've incorporated that into the new look of the raptor," said paleontologist Jack Horner, technical adviser on the film.[10]

The score, Don Davis, was recommended by the composer for the first two movies John Williams.[11] Williams' original themes were integrated into the score as well as several new ones written by Davis. A song by Randy Newman, "Big Hat, No Cattle", is also featured, appearing in the restaurant scene between Grant and the Kirby's.[12]

Release

The film earned $181,171,875 in the United States and $368,780,809 worldwide, was the eighth highest grossing film of the year worldwide,[2] but still earned less than either of its predecessors. As with the other films in the franchise, there was a large marketing push, including seven video games[13] and a novelization aimed at young children.[14] The film made its VHS and DVD debut on December 11, 2001.[15] The DVD has also been re-released with both sequels on December 11, 2001[16] as the Jurassic Park Trilogy, and as the Jurassic Park Adventure Pack on November 29, 2005.[17] The film has also been released alongside Hulk.[18] The soundtrack was released on July 10, 2001.[19] A Blu-ray release of the film is only available via the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy (Blu-ray and DVD) which was released on October 25, 2011 by Universal Studios in North America.

Scott Ciencin wrote three children's books to tie-in with the film; the first detailed the eight weeks Eric spent alone on Isla Sorna;[20] the second had Eric and Alan returning to Isla Sorna to rescue a group of teenage filmmakers;[21] and the last involved Eric and Alan leading the Pteranodons home after they nest in a Universal theme park.[22]

Reception

Jurassic Park III received mixed reviews from critics. It is currently ranked with a 50% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 156 reviews counted.[23] Worse yet it has a 29% rating among their Top Critics.[24] It also has a 42% on Metacritic.[25] Empire magazine gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, commenting that it was "Short, scrappy and intermittently scary, this sequel skews young. It lacks the scale, the chills and the wonder of the original, but is more fun as a thrill ride than its sequel predecessor..."[26] Other critics were split over whether the third installment of the series was better or worse than the second. Jeffrey Westhoff of the Northwest Herald felt that it was worse, remarking that "Johnston inherits the series one film too late."[27] However, Ben Varkontine called it "not as good a ride as the first", but "better than the second."[28] Much of the criticism was leveled at the plot as simply a chase movie with no character development, with some going so far as to say it was "almost the same as the first movie" with "no need for new ideas or even a script".[29] There were also complaints about its short length and small cast. On Ebert and Roeper, Richard Roeper gave it Thumbs Down while Roger Ebert awarded a Thumbs Up.[30] In a subsequent review, Ebert called it "the best blockbuster of the Summer".[31]

The movie was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film and Best Special Effects.[32] For its shortcomings, it was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst Remake or Sequel".[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=jurassicpark3.htm
  2. ^ a b "Jurassic Park III (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  3. ^ a b c The Making of Jurassic Park III. Universal Pictures. 2005. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ "Spielberg dodges directing 'Jurassic 3'". CNN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  5. ^ a b "Jumanji's Joe Johnston Joins Jurassic". About.com. Retrieved 2011-07-27. {{cite web}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help)
  6. ^ Jurassic Park III (DVD). 2001.
  7. ^ "Jurassic Park III". British Film Institute. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  8. ^ "Jurassic Park III". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  9. ^ Elley, Derek (2001-07-17). "Jurassic Park III". Variety. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  10. ^ a b "Production Notes". Cinema Review. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  11. ^ "Composer Don Davis Welcome to Jurassic Park". Tracksounds. June 29, 2001. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  12. ^ Plume, Kenneth (July 25, 2001). "Composer Don Davis Talks Jurassic Park III and the Matrix Sequels". IGN. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  13. ^ "Jurassic Park Licensees". Moby Games. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  14. ^ Scott Ciencin (2001). Jurassic Park III. Random House Books for Young Readers. p. 116. ISBN 978-0375813184.
  15. ^ "Jurassic Park III". IGN. 2001-12-12. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
  16. ^ "Jurassic Park Trilogy". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  17. ^ "Jurassic Park Adventure Pack". IGN. 2005-11-17. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  18. ^ "Jurassic Park III released with Hulk". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  19. ^ "Jurassic Park III soundtrack valued at $12.99". Soundtrack.net. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  20. ^ Scott Ciencin (June 2001). Survivor. Boxtree. p. 116. ISBN 0-7522-1978-2.
  21. ^ Scott Ciencin (October 2001). Prey. Boxtree. p. 123. ISBN 0-375-81290-3.
  22. ^ Scott Ciencin (March 2002). Flyers. Boxtree. p. 128. ISBN 0-375-81291-1.
  23. ^ "Jurassic Park III". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  24. ^ "Jurassic Park III Top Critics". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  25. ^ "Jurassic Park III: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  26. ^ Review of Jurassic Park 3 -EmpireOnline
  27. ^ Jeffrey Westhoff. "Jurassic Park III". Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL). Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  28. ^ Ben Varkontine. "Jurassic Park III". PopMatters. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  29. ^ Brian Webster. "Jurassic Park III". Apollo Movie Guide. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  30. ^ "Ebert and Roeper Jurassic Park III". Buena Vista Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-09-11. [dead link‍]
  31. ^ "Ebert and Roeper Planet of the Apes". Buena Vista Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-09-11. [dead link‍]
  32. ^ "Past Winners Database". Los Angeles Times. 2002-06-10. Archived from the original on 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  33. ^ "2001 RAZZIE Nominees & "Winners"". Razzie Awards. 2005-12-05. Retrieved 2007-07-08.

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