Jurassic Park III

UK Release Date. 20 July 2001
Certification. PG
Running Time. 1 hour 32 mins
Director. Joe Johnston
Cast. Laura Dern, Michael Jeter, Téa Leoni, William H. Macy, Trevor Morgan, Sam Neill, Alessandro Nivola.
Rating. 49%

Review.

Steven Spielberg relinquished directorial duties for Jurassic Park III and was replaced by Joe Johnston, the director of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, The Rocketeer and Jumanji. And whilst the film performed well at the box office, Jurassic Park III remains the lowest-grossing film in the franchise.

The storyline is scant and exposition absent. What we have instead is a Jurassic Park greatest hits album - a return of original cast members, a reprise of John Williams' iconic score and a whole host of dinosaurs, some familiar, and some new. But, in truth, everything that transpires in Jurassic Park III is repetitious and largely unengaging. Worst still, Jurassic Park III erodes the legacy of Jurassic Park,

Dr Grant: "No force on Earth or Heaven could get me on the island."

Yet, in the very next scene, the promise of funding does exactly that. This is a massive betrayal of a much-loved character. A man of science. A man of principle. A man of his word.

It is perhaps indicative of Jurassic Park III that the film's best scene does not feature dinosaurs. Instead, the highlight of Jurassic Park III is the touching suburban reunion between Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern).