directed by joe johnston . screenplay by peter buchman , alexander payne , and jim taylor , based on characters created by michael crichton . starring sam neill , william h macy , tea leoni . running time : 94 minutes . rated aa by the mfcb . reviewed on august 15th , 2001 . synopsis : original " jurassic park " survivor alan grant ( neill ) is tricked by paul and amanda kirby ( macy and leoni ) into leading an expedition to an island overrun by dinosaur , to rescue their stranded son . grant's team is picked off one by one as they encounter dinosaurs both new and familiar , and grant grows to realise that some breeds are more intelligent than he previously thought . review : there is one reason why " jurassic park iii " is better than its immediate predecessor , " the lost world : jurassic park " . the latter wasted 129 minutes of my life ; the former , only 94 . the first " park " was a marvellous film , full of awe-inspiring sights , interesting characters , and genuine thrills . its two successors have been pale imitations , amounting to hundred-million-dollar b-grade horror movies . at least this third entry realises it ; whereas " the lost world " tried to justify its existence with a ludicrous and overextended plot , " jurassic park iii " simply sticks its characters on an island with a bunch of dinosaurs and lets the mayhem begin . there is a desperate sense of deja vu presiding over this movie ; the computer-animated dinos are no longer novel or exciting , and even the first-time presence of aerial lizards scarcely improves the situation . remember that wondrous first trolley ride through the park in the original movie ? nothing in this rehash even comes close . add in execrable dialogue from screenwriters buchman , payne and taylor , and phoned-in performances by the normally capable macy and leoni , and it is difficult to recommend the film to anyone but dino enthusiasts . at least neill makes some effort to retain the dignity of his character , and there is much less gore than in " the lost world " , making this installment more suitable for children . copyright © 2001 shannon patrick sullivan . archived at the popcorn gallery , <a href= " http : //www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies . html " >http : //www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies . html</a> | shannon patrick sullivan | <a href= " mailto : shannon@mun . ca " >shannon@mun . ca</a> | + --------------------------------- + --------------------------------- + / doctor who : a brief history of time ( travel ) go . to/drwho-history \ \__ we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/ 
