Jurassic Park III Review

When a film title ends in a number you know what to expect, and when it stars with the words "Jurassic Park" you know to expect dinosaurs. And that’s exactly what you get in "Jurassic Park III," lots and lots of dinosaurs, from the familiar T-Rex and raptors to new creatures including the ferocious Spinosarus – as at home on land as in water – and the airborne pterodactyl (whose shadow dominates the film’s poster). The film also brings back leading man Sam Neill, whose archaeologist Alan Grant was last seen in the first movie. This time round he ends up on another island full of killer dinos and attempts to lead a small group of people – including the brilliantly understated William H Macy – to the safety of the coast.

The film starts with a great opening scene (where what we don’t see is much scarier than anything we do!), and after twenty minutes spent establishing the characters and setting the scene we’re off on a roller coaster ride, that only lets up intermittently before the film comes to an end over an hour later. Steven Spielberg may not be behind the camera but his influence is apparent, not least in the importance that family once again plays in the film. However he has found a fine successor in "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" director Joe Johnston, who keeps the action racing along and delivers at least a few edge-of-the-seat jumps along the way.