Name 3 good things in JP3.

The name says it all and please, don't add that notorious fight scene. I don't want this to be a flame war thread.

With that said, here are my 3.

1. The new Velociraptors: While I don't like how they were more...'civilized' for the lack of a better word, I actaully do like their designs and it's far easier to see the sexual dimorphism between the males which had the proto-feathered/quilled mohawk and the female which had the basic raptor design but with a nice white/cream and black color. That and unlike the other raptors, you can't blame them for being mad at the humans.

2. The Pterandons: These things weren't the most accurate, but they more then made up for it in the terror factor. These things acted like something from the old dinosaur movies of the past. It was a great breath of fresh old school air.

3. The Spinynator attacking the boat: This was the one good scene that I liked. This scene really made it fell like a legitimate new threat and given how we know that it was semi-aquatic, it still holds up quite well. I still think that the Spinynator concept was, at best, poorly handled, but I can't say that for this scene.

1. Some great Grant's one-liners.
"We're not yet landed", "Nobody move a muscle", "Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions", "What if they catch us without them?", "We're in the worst place in the world and we're not even being paid", "This is how you play God", "No force on earth or heaven could get me on that island", "you probably won't get off this island alive", "On this island there is no such thing as safe", "I don't think so, it sounds bigger", "That's a very bad idea!", "Reverse Darwinism - survival of the most idiotic".
I mean, c'mon, these lines may be cheesy but also awesome XD

2. The VFX.
C'mon, you can say JP3 is not the best film, but the CGI in there is great. The only complaint I have is more about the Spino animatronic, which is so cool but it moves a bit robotic in some shots.

3. The cinematography.
I think they nailed the atmosphere and the look of the movie. It's a pity, because it was wasted for a film that had a poor story.

1. The Spinosaurus
2. The new look Raptors
3. The Pteranodon attack

1- Spinosaurus.
2- The new raptors.
3 - The rest of the dinosaurs + Pteranodon.

-The on-location film making. Say what you will about the sets, but for all the stuff I tear JP/// up about I have to admit that the footage shot on location in Kauai is actually really good. Not as good as JP or TLW, but still not bad stuff.


-The Aviary scene. This scene is definitely one of the top scenes in the movies. It's creepy, intense, well shot, and incredibly atmospheric, which leads into my next point.


-The atmosphere. I know I rag on JP/// a lot, but every now and then I get the feeling I might just be slightly too hard on the movie. Personally, I feel like while the sets can be lacking at times, there's some gems hidden in the rough. It's got some good, legitimate spookiness about it. I used to idolize the film's classic jungle feel as a child, along side JP's, because the more deciduous foliage makes for some real imaginative play in your local forest preserve with your friends.

-The Aviary/Pteranodons.
-Introduction of the Spinosaurus and Sornaensis Velociraptors.
-Setting up Jurassic World with the escaped Pterosaurs flying to Canada/Costa Rican mainland.

1. The aviary, in general. It's not only arguably the best scene in the movie, but one of the best scenes in the series.

2. Seeing all the ruined remains of Site B. The Workers' Village was cool to see, and JP/// brought us even more with the aviary with its catwalks and cages, the Embryonics Administration and Laboratories Complex, even the ruined tanker truck Eric lives in. You can tell the purpose in every detail of the EALC in particular--nothing's in there accidentally or arbitrarily. It doesn't take much speculation to envision how the place would have looked in its heyday, and that's really intriguing to me.

3. Grant's character. This film didn't have a surplus of memorable roles, but Alan Grant makes it worth watching the cast bumble about Isla Sorna. The impact of Jurassic Park on paleontology would realistically be huge, but we don't see much of it in the series. Grant gives us a look into what life has become for a paleontologist in the post-InGen age. His character development from the first film has stuck, and he continues to grow as a character throughout this film. Sam Neill gives an excellent performance again as well, demonstrating his understanding of the character.

The more I think about this thread, the more and more I'm disappointed with JP3. This could have been a good, or at least respectable, movie if Horner wasn't so overbearing (Spinynator, his Anti-T. rex bias, the raptor redesign which actually turned out good, etc) an actual script being made instead of being on the fly, a more competent director, and if Steven Spielberg was more hands on.

The End Credits
The End Credits
The End Credits.

Sickle_Claw wrote:

The End Credits
The End Credits
The End Credits.

I can't blame you for feeling that way since I felt like that after walking out of the movie theater. It was some distance from where I usually see movies so I should have regarded it as a bad omen then and there.

- The runway sequence was thrilling, as well as the Spino encounter right after and up until...that scene.
- The aviary.
- Exploring more of the island, even if it led to some inconsistencies with TLW.

Scene about astronauts and paleontology. Thought that was a great scene that captured a lot of what the film was about. Why do people risk life to experience something. Grant looks on his past a bit, what he used to think and what he has learned.



Abandoned bit, always love seeing places and imagine how it was before.



Alan Grant teaching.

-The raptor design + effects.
-The aviary scene, still holds up to this day as a great sequence.
-The boat attack.

- The Aviary
- Like many others have said, the JP III Raptor designs
- The return of Dr. Grant

1) The Aviary scene

It's everyone's favourite scene in JP3, including myself. I love the dark, foggy atmosphere and the ominous build up to the reveal of the first Pteranodon. I love the tension, intense score and dynamic flow of the scene and the Pteranodons (inaccurate though they may be). And I love that it takes a great scene from the first book and repurposes it in a great way.

2) Half of the Spinosaurus River attack

Not only is this scene very well directed with excellent rain for added atmosphere and the actors really sell the fear and urgency of almost drowning and being eaten, this scene was a demonstration of what animatronics can do when pushed to the limits, submerged in water and pummelled with rain despite the possibility of shorting out or catching fire. Its the one scene with the Spinosaur that I actually enjoy and consider above the standard the film sets for itself.

The reason I put it down as "half" is because of the fact that a lot of the tension is sapped away by the film idiotically cutting to the Barney scenes and the fact that the Spinosaurus just runs away after a little burn and ultimately isn't defeated or gotten rid of in a very satisfying way. At least for me, anyway.

3) The jungle settings and atmosphere

This is something the film actually trumps Jurassic World in on a production level. The location shoots in Kauai have a lot more lighting, mist and colour going into them than most of the jungle shots in JW. While some might be divided on the quality of the Universal Studios jungle sets, I actually quite like them and believe they blend together with the location shoots well.



Honourable mentions include: the InGen Genetics Lab, made me wish we got to see more of it and had some good worldbuilding to go with it. And Sam Neill's performance; while I don't like how his character is written in this film, Sam doesn't phone it in and still retains the easygoing charm and occasionally stern nature of Grant.

1) The giant animatronic Spinosaur (when lighted and shown properly)
2) The auditorium scene when everyone was raising hands
3) It wasn't as bad as JW turned out to be

Mistral wrote:

1) The giant animatronic Spinosaur (when lighted and shown properly)
2) The auditorium scene when everyone was raising hands
3) It wasn't as bad as JW turned out to be

May I curiously ask why you didn't like JW? 

Spinosaur4.4 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

1) The giant animatronic Spinosaur (when lighted and shown properly)
2) The auditorium scene when everyone was raising hands
3) It wasn't as bad as JW turned out to be

May I curiously ask why you didn't like JW? 

Certainly

Soft reboot ideology
Rehash/recycled themes
Obvious fanservice references
Another park, another Nublar
"People got bored of dinosaurs" 10 years later?????
TLW/JP3 canon ignorance
Indominus whatever
Trained raptors
Characterization of "Blue"
Weird Vincent D'Onofrio subplot
Dr Wu motives made no sense
Annoying kids, even worse than Eric Kirby
Clunky dialogue at places
WAY TOO OVERUSED CGI that didn't even look great, plastic dinosaurs
Lack of animatronics (one isn't enough)
Embarrassing "wink wink" end fight that made my head hurt
Bland score

Some of the characters were okay and there were alright bits here and there (especially the 70's style chat between CP/BDH at the 'shack') but not enough to warrant it even above JP3. At least JP3 didn't feel like billion dollar ADHD fan film but just generic mediocre sequel. I take crappy jokes of Kirby Adventure & slasher-Spino over rehashed park & fake-looking uber-brain Indominus any day.

But that's just my opinion. I only saw it once in a theater and thought "ehhhh whatever", then halfway through in Bluray until I had to stop it out of anger.

Mainly it's the extreme in-your-face reboot feel and awful CGI over exploitation that ruins it for me, the rest are details.

It's not a reboot.

BarrytheOnyx wrote:

It's not a reboot.

Soft reboot.

And yes it is. Soft reboot concept just camouflages it as sequel even though it's attempting remake through rebooting. Yes it's technically a sequel, *evidence here*, but also a reboot. Just like Force Awakens.

Mistral wrote:

Spinosaur4.4 wrote:

Mistral wrote:

1) The giant animatronic Spinosaur (when lighted and shown properly)
2) The auditorium scene when everyone was raising hands
3) It wasn't as bad as JW turned out to be

May I curiously ask why you didn't like JW? 

Certainly

Soft reboot ideology
Rehash/recycled themes
Obvious fanservice references
Another park, another Nublar
"People got bored of dinosaurs" 10 years later?????
TLW/JP3 canon ignorance
Indominus whatever
Trained raptors
Characterization of "Blue"
Weird Vincent D'Onofrio subplot
Dr Wu motives made no sense
Annoying kids, even worse than Eric Kirby
Clunky dialogue at places
WAY TOO OVERUSED CGI that didn't even look great, plastic dinosaurs
Lack of animatronics (one isn't enough)
Embarrassing "wink wink" end fight that made my head hurt
Bland score

Some of the characters were okay and there were alright bits here and there (especially the 70's style chat between CP/BDH at the 'shack') but not enough to warrant it even above JP3. At least JP3 didn't feel like billion dollar ADHD fan film but just generic mediocre sequel. I take crappy jokes of Kirby Adventure & slasher-Spino over rehashed park & fake-looking uber-brain Indominus any day.

But that's just my opinion. I only saw it once in a theater and thought "ehhhh whatever", then halfway through in Bluray until I had to stop it out of anger.

Mainly it's the extreme in-your-face reboot feel and awful CGI over exploitation that ruins it for me, the rest are details.

I agree with the following:

Obvious fanservice references
Trained raptors
Characterization of "Blue"
Weird Vincent D'Onofrio subplot
Dr Wu motives made no sense
Annoying kids, even worse than Eric Kirby
Clunky dialogue at places

After the hype ended and I could watch JW more, I could note a lot of flaws too. Some stuff that could be greater than it was on the movie. Also the lack of depth on some characters annoyed me. But I still rate JW in a score that I still like the movie.

In a way JP3 and JW are very alike. They are both incredibly "play safe" movies, aimed not to take any risks whatsoever and bring the money home. JP3 is basically like a higher end direct-to-dvd sequel with very predictable generic monster movie story line and characters, while JW is relying almost entirely on nostalgia by copypasting the first film as well as stuffing the screen with as many shiny objects as possible. Now, you can argue which of these succeeded better in "safeness" with their ways of approach (majority seemingly leaning on JW), however at the end of the day it's plain clear that both films did not want to introduce anything new (I mean really new), make major offences, or stray away from the core premise.

TLW isn't exactly Empire Strikes Back or Aliens either, but at least it wasn't Ghostbusters 2 or Halloween 2 or Jaws 2 or whatever where it's the same exact movie as the first one but just worse. There's is "sort of" a variance going on with weird mix between King Kong, original JP and the TLW novel. Atmosphere is also darker. Even though most of the audiences despise the film and find it boring, and I don't think it's particularly that great either, at least it wasn't playing 100% safe like the other two sequels. In my books at least. It sort of tried. Of course Spielberg may have Crichton partly to "thank" for it, even though in the end didn't use almost any of the material he had pressured poor Michael to write.

1) The river scene

2) I actually dug the design of the raptors.

3) The fact that it was so mind numbingly terrible that Universal decided to put the franchise on the back burner for a while, thus refreshing the franchise and eventually leading to a strong sequel that's goals didn't exceed its reach (glares at TLW), or wasn't just plain terrible (glares at JP3).

I don't think it was the quality or non-quality of JP3 that mattered to Universal, but:
1) JP3 did mediocre at box office
2) All the new scripts and ideas they came up with for JP4 were terrible
3) Rebooting old franchises and making **** ton of money with it has grown steadily in the last few years

I only get three? :/

1) The score.

2) The creepy dinosaurs.

3) "Billy. . . .tell me we didn't land."

While in my personal opinion the Sorna films were the weaker half of the franchise, with the JP/// being the weakest of the two, it at least had a few moments that saved it from being a completely disappointing watch.

1. Velociraptor, design, animatronics and suits - This is the one aspect of the film that I believe does better than JW, the closeup shots of the Velociraptors. While the CGI for the animals was pretty decent in the latest film, I find JP///'s practical effects for the Raptors, just as good if not better than they appeared in JP. The design is very creative and surprisingly natural, I really like how they showed the differences between the males and females, with the different colours and even adding feather quills on top of the male's heads. They also have a quite a lot of expression whether they're being cunning, angry or surprised.

2. Spinosaurus Boat Attack - This scene had the potential to not work. In all the scenes prior to this one, the Spinosaurus had the worst special effects in the whole franchise; when it was a CGI effect, it didn't as though it was there and when it was an animatronic, it was clunky, jerky and lifless, it looked as though it was being handled by people who didn't know what the controls were.

Prior to this scene, there was no truly terrifying scene that made the Spinosaurus stand out from the Rex Attack, and the Raptors in the Kitchen. The Boat Attack is one of two truly terrifying scenes in JP///, and this is the scene that somewhat redeemed the Spinosaurus. There was a wonderful seamless blend of CGI and animatronics; the awful CGI is now camouflaged by the night and the rain, similar to the first Rex attack, and with the brilliant controlling of the animatronic, especially where it drew blood with one of the Kirby's, this was the moment where the Spinosaurus felt alive and was truly on the screen. It's such a pity then that the Spinosaurus had so many bad scenes prior to this one.

3. Pteranodon Aviary Sequence - This is the other truly terrifying scene in JP///, and arguably one of the highlights of the whole franchise. Everything about this scene, from beginning to end, was done right; the special effects were great, the atmosphere was wonderfully foreboding and frightening and the chase was very exciting, especially with the creative use of the parachute to save Eric.

Yeah the Spino river scene was good, however I remember being visibly annoyed/confused already in the theater when they kept cutting to Sattler's stupid kid answering the phone and especially when he was jumping up and down with Barnie on TV. It spoils the moment when you have comedick slapstick in bright daylight cut to supposedly scary huge animatronic dinosaur fishing for human flesh in thunderstorm.

The river scene in the first novel with Grant and kids is so much more effective, even though the T-Rex and dilos only briefly appear in it.

Anyway even with it's flaws I still think that JP3 scene was better than anything in JW.

Mistral wrote:

Yeah the Spino river scene was good, however I remember being visibly annoyed/confused already in the theater when they kept cutting to Sattler's stupid kid answering the phone and especially when he was jumping up and down with Barnie on TV. It spoils the moment when you have comedick slapstick in bright daylight cut to supposedly scary huge animatronic dinosaur fishing for human flesh in thunderstorm.

I think the cuts to Barnie in that scene, was to give the "kiddie-friendly" view of dinosaurs contrast as to what "real dinosaurs" are actually like.

Mistral wrote:

Anyway even with it's flaws I still think that JP3 scene was better than anything in JW.

I'm afraid, I highly disagree with you on that one Mistral.

Not surprised, I'm in the minority in ranking JW as the worst of the sequels. But opinions are just that, opinions.

Anyway, that Barnie scene, there are so many other inappropriate "comedy bits" in JP3 that in the end it's not even one of the worst. Most of the awful ones central around Kirby family. I would say the ones I actually do like are the auditorium hand raises which I mentioned earlier, and when Billy or whatever his name was asks John Diehl how he knows the Kirbys, and he answers "through our church" with serious face. It's such a weird out of place line I gotta like it.

I have to admit that I have more than three good things to point out from JP3, it is not the best of the franchise, however there are still things that do very well at the level of the first two, for me the three most relevant are:

1: The atmosphere

Something that Jurassic Park 3 did very well was that kind of "hybrid" atmosphere between the dark and majestic shown throughout the plot, I have even said, it was even better than the photograph and atmosphere of Jurassic World. In JP3 still felt the wild and the adventure of a film of Jurassic Park, adapting very well both the dinosaurs and the description of an abandoned island that keeps its secrets.

2: The CGI and the practical effects

Except for some stiffness bugs in the Spinosaurus animatronic and a little glitch in the CGI (especially on the FlyBy scene), I can say that I am satisfied with the detail and effort made by ILM and Stan Wiston's workshop with this third delivery. The models and details of the new raptors are incredible.

3: The Soundtrack

Obviously it does not compare to John Williams' work with JP and TLW, but I think Don Davis did an acceptable job with this, I think even comparable to Giacchino's level in JW.