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Send in the Clones

"Jurassic World" is the fourth installment of the "Jurassic Park" series, and like the titular theme park, it's a bigger, splashier and more cynical version of the original-without the childlike wonder. Part popcorn movie, part social commentary, yet not really succeeding at either.

Twenty-two years after the "incident" at the original Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar is now home to Jurassic World - a fully-functional, state-of-the-art theme park and resort. Siblings Zach and Gray Mitchell arrive at the park to visit their aunt Claire, the park's operations manager. Claire is too busy to spend time with them, leaving them with her assistant. Gray (Ty Simpkins) is a precocious tween excited by the attractions, but 16-year old Zach (Nick Robinson) is more interested in the prospect of meeting girls than in seeing an actual, living dinosaur.

Like Zach, park visitors seem inured to such wondrous sights. Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) is busy courting investors to sponsor new attractions to keep visitors interested - bigger, scarier, toothier. To answer demand, the park has created a completely new dinosaur hybrid, called Indominus rex. Bigger than the T-rex, Indominus is poised to be the park's next big money-maker. But is it safe? If you've seen the previous three movies, I think you know the answer already.

The park's owner, Simon Misrani (Irrfan Khan), recruits Owen Grady to inspect the enclosure. Owen (Chris Pratt) has been researching and training velociraptors on the other side of the park with some success. Owen's involvement irks Claire, as they have a bit of history.

During the inspection, Indominus outsmarts her captors and breaks free - leaving a bloody trail of humans and dinosaurs in her wake. Meanwhile, Zach and Gray have slipped away from Claire's assistant and are roaming the park on their own. Claire and Owen team up to find the boys and stop Indominus before she can reach the resort, while InGen's security chief, Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio), sees the crisis as the perfect opportunity to test if dinosaurs could be used for military purposes.

The dinosaur effects have improved greatly since the first film was released in 1993, but the writing of "Jurassic World" is a throwback, practically to the stone age. Claire and Owen's characters, interactions - even their wardrobe - is borrowed straight from 1984's "Romancing the Stone". It feels not only dated, but downright insulting, that Claire's career-mindedness is portrayed as a character flaw. Pratt is a charming, likable actor, but Owen's textbook "handsome rogue" part could have been played by any hunky actor in Hollywood to equal effect. Was Jeff Goldblum not available?

The characterization in "Jurassic World" isn't the only thing that seems rehashed. Many of the iconic shots and scenes from the first "Jurassic Park" are almost literally repeated in this film. The dinosaurs and vehicles may have been given an upgrade, but the set-ups are remarkably similar, taking a lot of the suspense out of key action sequences. Director Colin Trevorrow may have a fondness for Steven Spielberg's work, but the imitation isn't flattering.

Throughout the film, Director Colin Trevorrow takes pot-shots at corporate greed and the state of entertainment in America. Living dinosaurs aren't enough of a "wow" for visitors to Jurassic World. Toddlers take prehistoric pony rides on a baby triceratops while parents sip cocktails at Margaritaville in the food court. Dinosaurs are created and named to appeal to corporate sponsors. Yet, Trevorrow's commentary lacks teeth, as he has created something that exemplifies exactly what he's railing against: A clone of a dead franchise, created for no apparent purpose, other than to make money.