How do you follow Jurassic Park, one of the greatest blockbusters ever made? It’s not easy. The original is such a self-contained adventure that sequels prove difficult, even for Spielberg. Jurassic World returns to the premise of the original, scales it up considerably, and along the way creates an experience which hews closely to the spirit of the 1993 classic without ever lapsing into sycophantic homage or a cheap retread.

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22 years have passed since the disaster on Isla Nublar. The incident has been swept under the carpet, and the dream of enthusiastic billionaire John Hammond has been realised. Welcome to Jurassic World: a fully-operational theme park, full of dinosaurs and wonder, accessible to all.The technology which proved so dangerous in the original has not only been mastered but commodified. The resort is a huge success – crowds are wowed by its attractions and underpaid teenagers are bored in equal measure operating its rides. Yet instability is introduced into the system when the park’s team of scientists, led by Dr. Henry Wu, engineer a new species of dinosaur in an effort to attract lucrative sponsors and spike attendances. Predictably, this is a terrible idea, with the Indominus Rex soon breaking free of its enclosure and heading off on a homicidal rampage across the island.While some of the elements might seem a bit outlandish, the narrative is very close to that of the original: prometheus-like ambition, fuelled by greed and hubris, throws an organised system – the park and nature itself – into chaos.Lines can be drawn back to Jurassic Park, but it’s clear this is a modern blockbuster, with events unfolding on a much bigger scale. The park is open, after all, with thousands of visitors, a visitor centre sponsored by Samsung, and a boardwalk of shops and restaurants. That said, director Colin Trevorrow prevents Jurassic World from ever becoming a gross disaster movie, full of mindless carnage. There are scenes featuring explosions and gun fire – most of which were squeezed together to make the trailers – but I was thrilled to discover that it’s really not that type of blockbuster. Trevorrow has been allowed to build quietly a much more thoughtful, character-driven movie than I ever expected.The film opens with an Amblin logo, and those values are being embraced. Action is almost always in the service of the characters and plot, not because it once looked cool on a storyboard – and yes, that even applies to Chris Pratt riding a motorcycle flanked by raptors. It’s a pretty out-there image, but it plays much better in the movie due to a lot of context and the fact that by the time it arrives the film has earned it.Bryce Dallas Howard is great as Claire, the control freak in charge of the park. She’s the most prominent female character by far, and following on from Ellie and Lex, the real hero of Jurassic World. She’s the one who changes the most, going from aloof suit and reluctant aunt charged with looking after her two nephews to confronting and overcoming the dangers of the park. The movie turns around her, so it’s slightly frustrating that other characters – particularly her two nephews – don’t recognise or appreciate her heroism.Adulation of Pratt, however, comes more easily. It’s not that he doesn’t deserve it – Pratt is every bit the matinee idol here, playing the strong and sarcastic type – but it’s strange since Claire saves him on more than one occasion. It’s a classic set-up – she’s uptight, dressed in white; he’s laid-back, at home changing motorcycle oil – with Trevorrow playing up the high-adventure feel, reaching out to films like Romancing the Stone, but it just feels at odds with Claire’s position as head of the park.Elsewhere a couple of other characters and plot complications fall short. It’s nice to see geneticist Henry Wu return, providing some continuity for the series, but there’s no explanation for why he’s become so egotistical and suspicious. Similarly, Vincent D’Onofrio’s character Hoskins – a belligerent InGen representative – is a bit over-played, and his motivations muddy the plot late on. In fact, what’s become of InGen since Hammond’s death and its transformation into a military contractor isn’t elaborated in enough detail for it become a meaningful force. Possible explanations could come from Irrfan Khan’s eccentric billionaire, Simon Masrani, the man who made Hammond’s dream a reality, but he flips erratically between comedic relief and stern CEO.It’s not enough to derail the ride, which moves at an exhilarating pace. You get to the island within what feels like ten minutes, and it’s never eases up with one sequence flowing effortlessly into the next. The action is fun, intense, and scary, with some grisly deaths punctuating big sequences. Thankfully nostalgia is used with discretion. There isn’t a litany of callbacks, reworked one-liners, and John Hammond appears only as a statue, but when used it’s potent and pretty special for those who adore the original.Trevorrow even finds room to smuggle in a playful, thinly-veiled critique of corporate culture and, by extension, the summer blockbuster. The film’s suits talk about outdoing last year’s attraction, as they manufacture new hybrid attractions. It’s self-deprecating, well-pitched, and entails the best use of product placement I’ve seen in a movie.