14 years ago, Universal Pictures was banking on the re-invention of one of its top movie franchises becoming its biggest hit of the summer. The studio handed one of its greatest money-making franchises to a visionary director and tasked him with breathing new life into a sagging franchise. This director would need to create a movie that winked at its past, while also expanding its world beyond its memorable but somewhat limiting premise. Sound familiar?
Long before Jurassic World there was Jurassic Park III, a 2001 movie that has largely been swept under the rug by fans of the blockbuster film series. Pinpointing exactly why Jurassic Park III is so often ignored is difficult. When Jurassic Park III is referenced in the public discourse, it's often unfavourably compared to the original Jurassic Park or disregarded as being as bad or worse than The Lost World. Make no mistake - Jurassic Park III is much, much better than The Lost World.
Veteran director Joe Johnston - of Jumanji and The Rocketeer fame - was given the keys to Universal's kingdom to create a new kind of Jurassic Park movie. In fact, this film wouldn't be about a theme park at all. An attempt is made to honour some beloved elements from the first Jurassic Park movie, while upping the comedy factor and showcasing lots of terrifying new dinosaurs. All of this takes place in a new setting - the wild. Judged by those standards, it largely succeeds. Jurassic Park III is not a perfect film by any means, but taken on its own merits, it's an enjoyable Hollywood blockbuster packed with plenty of thrills.
Jurassic Park III's action largely takes place on Isla Sorna, established in the previous sequel as a twin island of the original Isla Nublar. Sorna was a remote and incredibly scenic plot of land where Jurassic Park founder John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) hoped to raise the creatures who would populate his dinosaur attractions. One classic aspect of Jurassic Park III lore that Joe Johnston gets right is putting Sam Neill back at the centre of its story as the crotchety palaeontologist Alan Grant. Joining the persnickety Dr Grant is a small crew led by feuding couple the Kirbys (played Téa Leoni and William H Macy), who rope the dinosaur researcher into helping them find their missing son in the creature-infested forest.
No real attempt is made to follow-up on the action of The Lost World, other than having Dr Grant offer an actual dismissal of its importance in the movie's opening moments. Instead, what we get is a largely self-contained story as Dr Grant does everything in his power to keep his neophyte crew alive in the dinosaur-filled world he promised never to return to. Clearly as an attempt to silence would-be complainers, Johnston puts the T-Rex on display early on for a fantastic sequence in which it loses a fearsome battle to a very hungry and imposing Spinosaurus. Sometimes you have to kill your darlings, and Jurassic Park III does just that by sacrificing the T-Rex to the franchise's new Big Bad. It's an effective sequence - one that makes the Spinosaurus a true menace.
In a sort of reverse-Heart of Darkness, Grant and his small crew have to make their way down river to find an innocent child - facing all sorts of dangerous new obstacles and fearsome fanged creatures. Jurassic Park III follows its predecessor in putting a child at the centre of the story - without having him on-screen for long stretches. This tactic recreates the magic of the original Jurassic Park by keeping the stakes high, while also leaving a possibly cloying child actor off screen for several key sections of the movie. Young Trevor Morgan acquits himself well enough when he finally becomes a part of the action, but he isn't required to do any heaving lifting either.
Much like its two previous movies, the new dinosaurs and old favourites showcased in Jurassic Park III are very impressive. The Velociraptors, of course, have their moment to shine in menacing Téa Leoni - continuing to grow smarter and creepier with each new film. The stand-out action sequence of Jurassic Park III comes as the crew actually fall into a cunning trap set by these menacing little monsters in an abandoned genetics laboratory. The terror plays out wonderfully as Leoni gazes at what she believes to be a preserved raptor, only for the dinosaur to spring to life. Johnston deserves much credit for reinventing the threat of the raptors in such a genuinely nerve-thrashing way.
The late Michael Jeter also deserves plaudits for his portrayal of Udesky, a mercenary hired by the Kirbys to deliver Dr Grant to the island at all costs. Udesky was small in stature, but full of steely menace. The role of a mercenary would have been an opportunity for many actors to create a blustering tough-guy character. Instead, Jeter chooses to use a cool nonchalance to create a supporting player more interesting than a few of those who survive longer in this film. This was a fitting late-era role for Jeter, who sadly passed away three years after Jurassic Park III's release. Jeter was often hired to portray more outrageous characters because of his famous role as Mr Noodle's brother on the iconic kids' series Sesame Street. His characterisation of Udesky proved he was an actor capable of far more range than he was often given credit for.
It's also a pleasure to see Sam Neill back in the role that largely defined his career. Dr Alan Grant's world-weariness in the face of certain death around every hanging plant or over-sized shrub was central to the magic of the original Jurassic Park. While Jeff Goldblum had the flashiest performance in the 1993 blockbuster, it was really Sam Neill who was the movie's heart and soul. The few moments in Jurassic Park III where he reunites with co-star Laura Dern positively sparkle, and lend an air of nostalgia to a movie that is largely striking it out anew.
All of that said, Jurassic Park III is not a perfect film. While Johnston creates a thoroughly tense rapport between Neill and his on-screen protégé Alessandro Nivola, the film's other double act - William H Macy and Téa Leoni - do not fare nearly as well. Téa Leoni fails spectacularly at making a shrieking con-woman sympathetic in any way. For as much as this movie does right, it doesn't bother trying to create a female lead as dynamic, independent and capable as Laura Dern's Dr Ellie Sattler. Leoni's Amanda Kirby is much more a caricature than a character, who exists solely to scream as loudly as humanly possible until a man (or in one case a little boy) comes to save her. Jurassic Park III was made in an era when Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Legally Blonde topped the box office - surely Joe Johnston could have done better than this?
In all fairness, William H Macy isn't very impressive either. It's a real shame that an actor who was fresh off a series of revelatory performances in Boogie Nights and Magnolia was asked mainly to frown and shrink under verbal volleys from Téa Leoni for most of the film's 90-minute running time. Not all of the blame can be put on these two actors. The film's trio of screenwriters - Peter Buchman (Che), Jim Taylor (Election) and two-time Academy Award winner Alexander Payne (About Schmidt) - all exhibited talent for creating interesting, challenging and credible female characters who existed as more than just outdated 2D representations of femininity. Téa Leoni deserved better.
Despite these shortcomings, Jurassic Park III remains immensely watchable and visually impressive. It manages to strike a clear balance between moments of terror and genuine laughs. Joe Johnston also takes time during Jurassic Park III at multiple points to let audiences marvel at the wonder of a world where dinosaurs roamed free once again. These creatures are treated with such reverence, and thus are truly awe-inspiring.
Hopefully, Jurassic Park III will someday get the re-evaluation that it deserves - it's far more than just the black sheep of one of Hollywood's most beloved film franchises. While it might not share classic status with the first Jurassic Park entry, III is fresh, exciting and, most of all, a whole lot of fun.
Night News Editor
Justin has been with Digital Spy since 2010, and in that time, has covered countless major news events for DS from the US.
He has worked previously as both a reporter and sub editor for the brand, prior to taking on the position of Night News Editor in 2016.
Over more than a decade, he has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. As a US contributor to Digital Spy, Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.
