In Jurassic World, Chris Pratt plays "Navy man" Owen Grady, the only guy who the island who understands what's going on inside the genetically reconstituted dinosaurs. He uses that insight to save the day when things go horribly (and inevitably) wrong in the latest (and best) sequel to Jurassic Park (out now on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD).
We've got a clip from the Blu-ray's bonus features. Executive producer Steven Spielberg and stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard talk about original author Michael Crichton and the ethics of technology, while director Colin Trevorrow talks about the spirit that infuses the movie.
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Twenty-two years after the Jurassic Park disaster, Jurassic World is online and prospering as a fully-functioning theme park that looks suspiciously like the Universal Studios theme park transported to Central America. The public has grown accustomed to seeing dinosaurs and the owners want to amp up the scares and thrills to keep the kids coming back. As the park gets ready to launch its latest genetically modified attraction, the Indominus Rex, the world faces its latest dinosaur crisis.
There are secret plans to "weaponize" velociraptors from bad guys who don't understand that living creatures can't be controlled like drones. Because this is a Spielberg movie, there are a couple of kids who think there parents are divorcing who eventually show more resourcefulness than all of the adults except Pratt. And there's a little romance between loudmouth Pratt and straitlaced Howard, but not enough to gross out the ten-year-0ld boys. And, in the end, it's the Navy guy who has the both the smarts and emotional intelligence to save the day.
Jurassic World makes a lot of sly references to the original movie and an overall sense that everyone's having a great time. All of the action scenes advance the plot and there's a Godzilla-worthy showdown at the movie's end. As the Marvel universe gets more frustratingly complicated and other remakes and relaunches fail to deliver, it's surprising to see a movie that so effortlessly incorporates all the movie magic innovations of the last twenty years while staying true to what made the original special in the first place. We can hope the Star Wars sequel comes this close to the original trilogy, but Jurassic World sets a high bar.
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Here's the truth about bonus features: most of them are boring and by-the-book. Chris Pratt and Colin Trevorrow make all the difference here. They come off like a couple of kids in their treehouse fantasizing about the movies they want to make. Except they're actually making the movie and they can't really believe how lucky they are. Spielberg and Trevorrow discuss how they made the film and you understand just how much Spielberg had to do with overseeing the film and why the relatively inexperienced Trevorrow proved to be the right choice. There are some useful breakdowns of the VFX scenes for anyone interested in the effects side of filmmaking.
You can get exclusive offers from various retailers: a Jurassic World lunchbox at Walmart, a bonus t-shirt at Best Buy and 30 minutes of bonus content along with popcorn and a soda from Target. There's a Blu-ray 3D special edition at Amazon with dinosaur statues you can use to recreate (most) of the movie's final showdown.
