Update (12/17/21): I finally got the hand of this new interface!
This is a rewritten post that I made some time ago. I feel like I could make this a better post, and get my feelings out better this time.
I love Jurassic Park. It helped my love of dinosaurs to grow, and it's one of the reasons why I'm trying to get into paleontology. It also takes me back to a time when I was a kid. I didn't have great interactions with people, so I got lost in films and television shows. The Jurassic Park franchise, in particular the first two films: Jurassic Park (1993) and The Lost World Jurassic Park (1997), gave me some of my favorite memories that I had as a kid. They made me wonder what it would be like to see dinosaurs alive. It also taught me that there are some things in science that mankind should not mess with, and that's coming from a university student going into biology. Unfortunately, my love for this franchise has dwindled.
It started when I found YouTube, and started watching people who review movies. People who reviewed the Jurassic Park franchise always praise the first film. When it comes to the first two sequels, The Lost World Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001), people either hate them both, or like one of them over the other. When Jurassic World (2015) came out, there were who said that it was the best sequel to the first film. I remember thinking that the film was alright, but the climatic final battle was cool! It wasn't entirely what I hoped it would be, but I'll discuss that further below. People were/are split on Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom (2018), but I think it's the third best Jurassic film. Jurassic World is after that. Jurassic Park III is in last place.
With Jurassic World Dominion (2022) coming up in the summer of 2022, and with what has been released so far concerning the film, I must say that I have come to a point where I must let go of Jurassic Park. These are my reasons why:
1. Jurassic Park III.
I remember when I learned that there was a third Jurassic Park film. When my mother, grandmother, and I sat in the living room to watch it, I remember that it left a horrible taste in my mouth. The biggest reason is that the T. rex, the original alpha theropod and symbol of the franchise, was killed at the hands of the Spinosaurus, and it never showed up again. As a result, the film was... I guess you can say, less interesting. It was a tonal shift for me because it didn't feel like Jurassic Park, despite having Dr. Grant back, and Dr. Sattler too for a little bit. The VHS copy of the film didn't even have the T. rex skeleton on the title. It was the Spinosaurus'. This was the first time that I learned to hate a dinosaur, and it took a LONG time for me to get over this. I wasted so many years online trying to make Spinosaurus look as pitiful as possible, but I couldn't see how pointless it was. In Jurassic Park/World, the larger theropod always beats the smaller theropod, regardless of scientific accuracy. This continued with Jurassic World, but I'll get to that later. I hated the real Spinosaurus because a fictitious version of it killed my favorite dinosaur, T. rex, which is also a fictitious version of the real T. rex. I don't hate Spinosaurus anymore, and I'm so sad that it took me so long to reach this point.
Another reason why, even though I didn't know this until I grew older, I didn't like JPIII was that Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler were separated. In the first film, the ending hinted that the two of them were going to start a family. In the third film, Dr. Sattler has a family with some other dude that I didn't, and still don't, care about. Breaking up couples seems to be a trend nowadays, and I HATE IT! Just let the characters have a happy ending! Dr. Grant and Sattler will be back in Dominion, so let's see what their relationship will be like. I highly doubt that they'll be back together.
2. The final battle of Jurassic World.
Jurassic World came about fourteen years after Jurassic Park III. A part of me hoped that it would fix the mistakes that JPIII made, and restore the T. rex to its rightful position as the mascot of the franchise. However, it will only confirm to me how pathetic the T. rex is in this franchise now.
Jurassic World came about fourteen years after Jurassic Park III. A part of me hoped that it would fix the mistakes that JPIII made, and restore the T. rex to its rightful position as the mascot of the franchise. However, it will only confirm to me how pathetic the T. rex is in this franchise now.
The Indominus rex was the new dinosaur villain in the film. When the original T. rex from the first film, now nicknamed "Rexy" by the fans, appeared to take on the I. rex, I was hoping that she would kill the I. rex single-handedly, this redeeming the T. rex in the franchise. After getting a few bites into the I. rex, the Indominus made short work of "Rexy." I was in denial for years before I finally saw reason: "Rexy" would have DIED if "Blue" the Velociraptor (actually a Deinonychus) didn't rescue her from the Indominus. What hurt me the most was that we didn't see "Rexy," or many other actual dinosaurs, throughout the film aside from cameos, and when we finally see "Rexy," she gets beaten by the Indominus in about thirty seconds. This is also the same amount of time that it took for the Spinosaurus to kill the T. rex in JPIII. We also didn't see other dinosaurs for the most part unless they were getting killed off by the Indominus rex. Only the Velociraptor pack were shown predominantly throughout the film, and it became a little annoying.
3. Too much focus on Velociraptors.
I love dromaeosaurs, but having them shown almost all the time in these movies is becoming a little annoying. This is one of the reasons why I love The Lost World Jurassic Park so much. The T. rex pack was shown as being the major threat on Sorna, and we saw the bull T. rex rampage through San Diego! Having the T. rex being the main threat made so much more sense to me than the Velociraptors, even though the Velociraptors from the first two films are my favorite iterations. In JPIII, the Velociraptors looked cool but they were treated as "super dinosaurs." They were "smarter than primates," as Dr. Grant said in the film. Even when I was a kid, I thought that was ridiculous. Funnily enough, the Velociraptors were the dinosaurs that actually got close enough to almost kill Dr. Grant and the other human protagonists in the film (near the end).
I love dromaeosaurs, but having them shown almost all the time in these movies is becoming a little annoying. This is one of the reasons why I love The Lost World Jurassic Park so much. The T. rex pack was shown as being the major threat on Sorna, and we saw the bull T. rex rampage through San Diego! Having the T. rex being the main threat made so much more sense to me than the Velociraptors, even though the Velociraptors from the first two films are my favorite iterations. In JPIII, the Velociraptors looked cool but they were treated as "super dinosaurs." They were "smarter than primates," as Dr. Grant said in the film. Even when I was a kid, I thought that was ridiculous. Funnily enough, the Velociraptors were the dinosaurs that actually got close enough to almost kill Dr. Grant and the other human protagonists in the film (near the end).
This got worse in Jurassic World, and Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. In Jurassic World, "Blue" and her pack did more damage to the Indominus rex than "Rexy" ever did, and "Blue" had to save "Rexy" from being killed by the I. rex! In Fallen Kingdom, "Blue" killed the new dinosaur villain, the Indoraptor, all by herself, albeit with the help of a Triceratops skull replica, but "Blue" didn't suffer any damage during the fight. That's really hard to believe because the Indoraptor was a super Velociraptor, so it should have beaten "Blue" like the Indominus rex, a super T. rex, beat "Rexy." Nope! "Blue" is just fine. "Rexy" in Fallen Kingdom barely did anything aside from killing a Carnotaurus, which a lot of fans didn't like (except for me, of course, and Carnotaurus is my second-favorite dinosaur), and killing Eli Mills, the human antagonist of the film. Compare that to "Blue" killing the Indoraptor without getting tossed like a bad habit like "Rexy" did in the previous film by the I. rex. The Indominus rex slammed "Blue" into a brick wall, and she comes out unscathed in order to rescue "Rexy." Then in Fallen Kingdom, "Blue" beats the Indoraptor without "Rexy's" help. The Velociraptors have been overused, and they are invincible!
I must note that "Blue" and "Rexy" did not kill the Indominus rex themselves. The Mosasaurus killed the Indominus rex. This would make the Mosasaurus the new icon of Jurassic World. I believe that it could beat the T. rex, Indominus rex, Giganotosaurus, and even the Spinosaurus, in a fight.
4. "Rexy" the T. rex being murdered 66 million years ago by the Giganotosaurus.
As if the Spinosaurus and Indominus rex weren't bad enough. Now, we have the Giganotosaurus. The Giganotosaurus is the new big bad dinosaur of Dominion (what a surprise). In a sneak peek for the film, we see "Rexy" and the Giganotosaurus square off, and of course, the Giganotosaurus breaks "Rexy's" neck and kills her! Shades of JPIII... Now, this took place 66 million years ago in the film. In real life, Giganotosaurus didn't coexist with T. rex. Giganotosaurus lived in South America. Tyrannosaurus lived in North America (and Eurasia, based on my own interpretation). However, this doesn't matter when it comes to Jurassic Park/World.
The reason why the T. rex keeps getting the short end of the stick is because they have to make the other theropods look strong. In return, this makes the T. rex look extremely weak. The T. rex hasn't beaten another large theropod in the franchise at all. It can beat smaller (Velociraptors), and medium-sized (Carnotsaurus) theropods, but it's a chump compared to larger theropods like the Spinosaurus, Indominus rex, and Giganotosaurus. If we were being scientifically accurate, the T. rex would have beaten the Spinosaurus and Giganotosaurus. The Indominus rex is an imaginary dinosaur, a hybrid made up of a T. rex, Velociraptor, and a conglomerate of other animals. Therefore, it's easy to see how it could beat the other theropods. Only the Spinosaurus, I think would give the I. rex a fair fight. The Indoraptor is also a hybrid of a Velociraptor, and other animals. This is why I don't get how "Blue" was able to fend off the Indoraptor so easily... However, scientific accuracy probably wouldn't make for a good story, or action scene. This is why I think the T. rex is a joke now, and I don't expect "Rexy" to beat the Giganotosaurus in the rematch on her own, later on in the film. She's going to need help, either from "Blue" again, or from the Spinosaurus who has yet to come back into a new JW film.
Conclusion.
This is why I will never see Jurassic Park/World the same way ever again. Despite what people may feel towards The Lost World Jurassic Park, the first two films will always be my favorites and The Lost World is the best sequel. I want to love the other films as well, but they always fall short compared to the first two films. The T. rex will never be on top ever again, and I can't hold that against any other theropod that beats the T. rex in the franchise. They're just doing what the filmmakers wants them to do. In all honesty, the Mosasaurus is the top predator of the franchise now. Dr. Grant and Sattler are not together anymore, and it's more than likely that they will not be together in Dominion. I also cannot get emotionally invested in anything else that happens in this franchise again. It'll drive me crazy if I do. I do not have any creative control in the franchise, so whatever happens next is in the hands of the filmmakers. If I want the T. rex to be the alpha theropod again, then I would have to write the story myself.
This is why I will never see Jurassic Park/World the same way ever again. Despite what people may feel towards The Lost World Jurassic Park, the first two films will always be my favorites and The Lost World is the best sequel. I want to love the other films as well, but they always fall short compared to the first two films. The T. rex will never be on top ever again, and I can't hold that against any other theropod that beats the T. rex in the franchise. They're just doing what the filmmakers wants them to do. In all honesty, the Mosasaurus is the top predator of the franchise now. Dr. Grant and Sattler are not together anymore, and it's more than likely that they will not be together in Dominion. I also cannot get emotionally invested in anything else that happens in this franchise again. It'll drive me crazy if I do. I do not have any creative control in the franchise, so whatever happens next is in the hands of the filmmakers. If I want the T. rex to be the alpha theropod again, then I would have to write the story myself.
So long, Jurassic Park/World. I will never forget the great memories you gave me with the first two films.
