In 1993, Steven Spielberg brought Michael Crichton''s best-selling book to life, winning an Academy Award for Best Visual
Effects, not to mention making a bundle for a movie that was, frankly, really good. I just watched that classic again, and realized just how realistic everything was, and just how exciting it was.
So it''s sort of strange to see Jurassic Park III, which does everything that a sequel should not. Jurassic Park managed to mix fairly reasonable science, drama, suspense, and action together extremely well, but Jurassic Park III does away with any kind of meaningful drama, science, and suspense. None of the characters have any depth, including Dr. Grant, who is treated more as a bitter returning veteran than anything else. Tea Leoni should slap herself for accepting such a stupid role (she screams for her son through a megaphone, which attracts a dinosaur, not to mention a dozen other idiotic things). William H. Macy is somewhat likeable but his comical timing seems out of place in what should be a serious film.
And that''s where the biggest problem lies. Director Joe Johnston (Spielberg is executive producing) treats Jurassic Park III as a commodity that needs no introduction, and makes fun of it much of the way that Ridley Scott did Hannibal. Comedy isn''t just written into the script; it is part of the story in a way, and in a way that doesn''t work. People came to watch a serious action movie, not a slightly funny second sequel.