The smartest thing Jurassic Park III does is keep the story nice and simple. This movie was in development hell for a real long time because of the screenplay. Over several different drafts, it was rewritten by such luminaries as William Goldman and Alexander Payne. Jurassic Park III runs a lean 93 minutes, a good 30 minutes shorter than both of the prior movies. It moves along at a good pace, understanding the real reason people want to see the movie is for the crazy dinosaurs. Characterization is trite, but in this case it works because they are going for a kind of Red Bull Jurassic Park experience.

A lesser aspect of the film is how Ellie is stuck to just having a short cameo. Her interactions with Dr. Grant were a highlight of the original, and it’s too bad they couldn’t use her for more. The CG is a bit dodgy in places (the pterodactyl on the bridge looks off, even though the scene remains creepy), but that’s more of a sign of technology advancing at the time. You could jump right into Jurassic Park III without ever seeing the second movie in the series; its tone is more lighter like the original blockbuster, and it makes little references to what came before it. Jurassic Park III is no perfect dino film by any means, but it’s one lean creature feature.