A theme park where you watch & ride the dinosaurs maybe a recipe for disaster but makes a great summer blockbuster film to watch.

Twenty-two years ago, we heard the docent tones of Dr. John Hammond, played by the late Richard Attenborough, saying those four famous words, “Welcome to Jurassic Park”. He spared no expense of bringing 65 million years of Earth’s first residents to our modern day world. Present day: Isla Nublar has been transformed into a fully functional theme park known as “Jurassic World” where kids can ride the triceratops & feed mini dinosaurs, take a Gyrosphere through the wilderness to watch a herd small, birdlike dinosaurs roam and watch a Spinosaurus chow down on a Great White shark.

Running the whole show is park director Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) who makes sure that the park runs like a well-oiled machine. Her normal routine takes a change when she is babysitting her nephews Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins) when they visit the park for the first time. With her busy schedule, she hands them off to her loyal assistant.

On other side, we have Navy veteran Owen (Chris Pratt) who trains the Velociraptors at the park. He worked with them for so long that they developed a special bond with the pack.

All is going well with the park. However, with the rate of tourists on a downward spiral, the people at corporate feels that the public want more. So the good scientists of Jurassic World have gone back to the lab to cook up a hybrid dinosaur. Introducing the Indominus Rex— your average T. Rex with a few added features that would keep you on the edge of your seats. This superdino is created by chief genetic engineer Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong reprising his original role) and watched over by security consultant Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio). What scientists soon realize is that mixing 65 Million Years of evolution is deadly & costly way of bringing in new guests.

A summer movie to me must pass one test: to entertain us. Jurassic World has passed the test and then some. Despite a reasonable amount of subplots and some weak portrayals, Jurassic World is still vastly better than Jurassic Park 3. Between the Indominus Rex crashing into the park’s aviary, for which the Park’s PA system calls “a containment anomaly,” and the velociraptors’ effort to bring down Indominus Rex only to suffer from an unfortunate case of divided loyalties, this film has plenty of action and suspenseful moments to grab your attention.

If anyone has doubts on Chris Pratt lately, he will continue to amaze you with his portrayal as Owen. Still fresh from his role as Starlord in “Guardians of the Galaxy”, he’s training Velociraptors to be friendly one minute and racing with them on a motorcycle the next. He is slowly becoming one of the best leading men in action films for our generation and it’s a pleasure to see him evolve since his role in “Parks & Recreation”.

There are some moments of the film that pay tribute to the original 1993 film, so don’t blink or you’ll miss it. Although the legendary John Williams is not on hand to score the movie, composer Michael Giacchino continues to make film music enjoyable. No matter what film he scores, whether its The Incredibles or Star Trek, you can be sure that Giacchino will help leave the theatre happy. The blending of William’s original score and Giacchino’s updated score is brilliant!

Unlike the previous films, World had me root the dinosaurs by the end especially in a couple of scenes in the films. I won’t spoil it for you but you have experience tears – fair warning. Some of the things that didn’t click include a storyline involving Hoskins’ scheme to use Owen’s trained raptors, as military-grade weapons is very underdeveloped and the fight between Special Forces soldiers and the Indominus Rex. Didn’t anyone remember the adage “It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature” especially if she has years of experience?

Director Colin Trevorrow did a good job rebooting the franchise with new twists and turns while honoring the original. Don’t worry about seeing this in 3D. It will still be a Jurassic World After All.

FINAL GRADE: A-

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

See author's posts