JURASSIC WORLD (B+/A/A)

The Bottom Line: Bigger, stronger, faster and yet still not quite as crisp as the ’93 original, Jurassic World is a satisfyingly solid summer joy ride that delivers bronto burger-sized thrills! In the 22 years that have passed since the nightmare-inducing events of John Hammond’s initial vision, Isla Nublar has become a bustling and fully operational family theme park island of prehistoric pleasures.  This place has it all – including an on-the-loose, genetically cross-bred monster (not T-Rex) bent on domination and destruction. Vividly crafted for near-maximum big screen crowd-pleasing, Jurassic World is an engagingly energetic beast that moves with raptor-like velocity…  It employs engaging action, stunning visuals, swooning score and a myriad of ulteriorly-motivated subplots that almost all seamlessly converge in to a digitized cold-blooded orgy of flesh, bone, tails, teeth, claws, scales and so on…  Yes, we’ve traveled much of this path before, but with Chris Pratt’s cocksure swagger and charm at the helm, what was once old feels new again – or at least considerably freshened up. One could easily argue that the entire premise and many poor character choices are as goofy as a T-Rex reaching for his wallet, but with its grand doses of energized chaos (my 10- and 8-year old boys claim it didn’t scare them at all), the film still finds time for knowingly nostalgic throwback nods to good ol’ fashioned tension, humor and heart. It’s nothing if not supremely self-aware that sometimes bigger-stronger-faster doesn’t necessarily equate to better – but it can still comfortably hover around pretty darn fun. Easy on brains with an extra helping of brawn – this is one lean, mean popcorn-munching machine that delights at almost every single turn! Hold on to your butts, indeed!

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, BD Wong, Ty Simpkins, Omar Sy and Vincent D’Onofrio

Directed by: Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed)

Rated: R

Running time: 123 minutes

Story: Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure based on characters created by Michael Crichton. The screenplay is by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Derek Connolly & Trevorrow, and the story is by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley join the team as producers. (C) Universal

Official site: www.jurassicworldmovie.com