Other Titles • Jurassic Park III (2001) • JP3 • Jurassic Park 3 • Jurassic Park 3: The Extinction • Jurassic Park: Breakout • Return to the Island: Jurassic Park 3 • The Extinction: Jurassic Park 3
Synopses for Jurassic Park III (2001)
1.
Paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) has sworn never to return to Jurassic Park. But he needs funding for his research, so when a wealthy thrill-seeking couple (William H. Macy and Téa Leoni) come calling, Grant and his protégée, Billy (Alessandro Nivola), agree to take them on a sightseeing flight. By the time Grant finds out what their true purpose is--to land on the island and search for their missing son--all of their lives are in peril. And Grant's newfound theory about Raptor intelligence will have its deadly proof.
Joe Johnston was the right director to take over Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK series. He's experienced with special effects, having worked on the STAR WARS films, while his OCTOBER SKY demonstrates his skill at telling an emotionally involving tale. In JURASSIC PARK 3, with the help of a top-notch technical team and a talented cast (who began filming before the script was finished, improvising much of their dialogue), and a new dinosaur, Spinosaurus, that makes even T-Rex nervous, Johnston has fashioned a rousing adventure with state-of-the-art visuals. Clocking in at a tense 92 minutes, it's the fastest-moving, most action-packed film of the series.
(10 votes)
2.
As long as you expect nothing more, Jurassic Park III is a satisfying popcorn adventure. A little cheesier than the first two Jurassic blockbusters, it's a big B-movie with big B-list stars (including Laura Dern, briefly reprising her Jurassic Park role) and eight years of advancing CGI technology gives it a sharp edge over its predecessors. While adopting the jungle spirit of King Kong, the movie refines Michael Crichton’s original premise and its dinosaurs are even more realistic, their behaviour more detailed and their variety--including flying Pteronodons and a new villain, the Spinosaurus--more dazzling and threatening than ever. These advancements justify the sequel and its contrived plot--just barely spanning 90 minutes without wearing out its welcome.
Posing as wealthy tourists, an adventurous couple (William H Macy, Téa Leoni) convince palaeontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and his protégé (Allesandro Nivola) to act as tour guides on a fly-over trip to Isla Sorna, the ill-fated "Site B" where all hell broke loose in The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2. In truth, they're on a search-and-rescue mission to find their missing son (Trevor Morgan) and their plane crash is just the first of several enjoyably suspenseful sequences. Director Joe Johnston (October Sky) embraces the formulaic plot as a series of atmospheric set pieces, placing new and familiar dinosaurs in misty rainforests, fiery lakes and mysterious valleys, turning JP3 into a thrill-ride with impressive highlights (including a T-Rex vs. Spinosaurus smackdown), adequate doses of wry humour (from the cowriters of Election) and an upbeat ending that's corny but appropriate, proving that the symptoms of "sequelitis" needn't be fatal. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
On the DVD: even though the original movie introduced DTS sound in cinemas, this is the first Region 2 DVD of the Jurassic Park franchise to boast DTS on the DVD. Great sound is complemented by a splendidly crisp anamorphic picture. The extras are many but fairly brief: a quick "Visit to ILM" (earnest men with beards and/or baseball caps sitting in front of computers) shows us the CGI dinosaurs whereas the even shorter "Tour of Stan Winston's Studio" reveals the animatronics--both of which are also explored in the fairly routine "making of" documentary (22 minutes). Behind-the-scenes montages show how three key sequences were created, and the commentary has key members of the FX team (including Stan Winston) revealing all the digital and animatronic secrets. Best of all is the disc's laudable attempt at providing added educational value with in-depth guides to each new dinosaur (plus "turntable" views of them all), and palaeontologist Jack Horner on location at his dinosaur digs in Montana. --Mark Walker
(9 votes)
3.
Anxious to fund research for his new theory of velociraptor intelligence, renowned paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant is persuaded by a wealthy adventurer and his wife to accompany them on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna. This infamous island, once InGen's site B, has become both a primordial breeding ground for John Hammond's magnificent creations and a magnet for thrill-seekers eager to encounter them. When a tragic accident maroons the party of seven, Grant discovers the true reason his deceptive hosts have invited him along. In their perilous attempt to escape with their lives, the dwindling group encounters terrifying new creatures undisclosed by InGen, and Grant is forced to learn the dreadful implications of his raptor intelligence theory firsthand.
(8 votes)
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