Nagging JP question

There's a question that I've been wanting to have answered ever since first seeing JP3. Does anyone know what kills the people in the boat at the beginning of the movie? I've always assumed it was the Pteranodons or possibly some kind of marine reptile.

If you listen to the commentary from the SFX crew you'll see it's really an unknown matter. Early scripts had it as the Pteranodons though. A lot of people run with that theory, but the fact is we don't know and probably never will.

As a joke I used to say that it was the Fog monster from Lost in an early starring role. XD

Tricycloplots, probably.

TyrannosaurTJ wrote:

If you listen to the commentary from the SFX crew you'll see it's really an unknown matter. Early scripts had it as the Pteranodons though. A lot of people run with that theory, but the fact is we don't know and probably never will.

As a joke I used to say that it was the Fog monster from Lost in an early starring role. XD

I always thought that it was the Spinosaurus. After all, if they made it into a bad Godzilla knock-off by shrugging off all that things that would have killed it (2 T. rex neck bites, crashing though the steel barrier, and getting set on fire) then it makes sense that it would have swam and ate those people.

Rhedosaurus wrote:

TyrannosaurTJ wrote:

If you listen to the commentary from the SFX crew you'll see it's really an unknown matter. Early scripts had it as the Pteranodons though. A lot of people run with that theory, but the fact is we don't know and probably never will.

As a joke I used to say that it was the Fog monster from Lost in an early starring role. XD

I always thought that it was the Spinosaurus. After all, if they made it into a bad Godzilla knock-off by shrugging off all that things that would have killed it (2 T. rex neck bites, crashing though the steel barrier, and getting set on fire) then it makes sense that it would have swam and ate those people.

Well, like I said, nobody knows. Not even the people behind the film.

There isn't explanation because it's plot device. Personally, I would be more interested in knowing what killed Ben Hildebrand after they had already landed by the parachute, but that's just plot device too. It's nevertheless interesting that they decided to use this approach, I mean these weren't exactly the first off-screen deaths (Arnold and Ajay before) but they were the first with non-answers. In any case it's not like these were major characters, so they could get away with it.

The opening scene did lead to the boat's collision course with the rocks, which in turns means that the JP3 did in fact have one non-dinosaur action scene in it (JP had two and TLW one). Well sort of, I acknowledge it was extremely brief and happened almost in conjunction with the attack.

Also, the actor who played the boat owner... there's a guy who died not only to (presumably) dinosaur, but also to a dragon in GoT.

I always just assumed it was the Spinosaurus because of the later boat attack but there is absolutely no way to prove it and it doesnt make that much sense even. The boats speed and the fact its on the ocean, over far deeper water, makes the idea that ol' Spino was out there and somehow pulled it off seem almost impossible.

I think its just something we'll never know and have to just say "Something happened" and that is it.

Would Spinosaurus be a saltwater predator? The river ought to be fresh water but the coast would be salty

Mistral wrote:

Would Spinosaurus be a saltwater predator?

Im not really sure at all. Perhaps someone has a better idea than me but the portion of Africa it lived in was sort of near the modern coast of North Africa. I dont know if that really says anything. I guess any proof, and only speculative proof, would be fossils found in the same area and if they find any stomach contents that suggest a diet of creatures know to live in salt water.

Mistral wrote:

Would Spinosaurus be a saltwater predator? The river ought to be fresh water but the coast would be salty

In real life yes, but it would probably be limited to estuaries. However, saltwater crocodiles have been known to swim for remarkably far distances and have been know to attack dugongs, rays, and sawfish. So given how the real Spinosaurus was adapted, though you could argue overadapted, for aquatic life. It's very likely that could have swam out that far.

What made me think of the Pteranodons is the fact that the boat has a fabric roof and when it emerges from the fog, you can clearly see the fabric has big holes in it, possibly made by the Pteranodons' beaks. Then I thought possibly a marine reptile because, despite the amount of blood in the boat, the bodies are missing, so maybe a Plesiosaur could have attacked the boat then quickly grabbed the injured people and drowned them.

I was gonna say that the territory of the Spinosaurus would be pretty damn gigantic if it went all the way from center of the island to the ocean, but then I remembered it already was portrayed as such. You know with it stalking people like a psycho serial killer all over the island. So I guess it's plausible within the context of the film. And to be fair, as a kid I always thought that's what it must've been too, because it's the prime threat of the film.