---
title: "Jurassic World"
year: 2015
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/jurassic-world"
fi1m_score: 60
critics_score: 61
critics_reviews: 26
published: "2026-09-19T16:32:04.591838+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-19T16:32:04.887990+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jurassic World (2015)

Directed by Colin Trevorrow · 2h 04m · MPA PG-13 · Adventure, Science Fiction, Thriller

**Fi1m score: 60** · Critics 61 from 26 reviews

*In a sentence:* Bryce Dallas Howard spends two hours running from dinosaurs in heels, and the film thinks she is the silly one

> Colin Trevorrow reopens the park, fills it with paying customers and lets loose a dinosaur built to order. The lagoon show and Chris Pratt are worth the evening; the rest is loud, weightless and unkind to its own heroine.

## Synopsis

Isla Nublar, twenty-two years after the first park failed. Jurassic World is open, profitable and slightly bored with itself: the crowds have seen a tyrannosaur, and the owner, Masrani (Irrfan Khan), wants something new to sell. Operations manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) has it, a hybrid built in the lab by Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong) and named Indominus rex, due to be unveiled within weeks. Owen (Chris Pratt), who trains the park’s four raptors, is asked to look over its paddock. Claire’s nephews, Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins), arrive for a weekend she is too busy to spend with them, and Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio), head of security, has plans for the raptors that have nothing to do with tourism. Then the new animal appears to be missing from its enclosure.

## Review

Colin Trevorrow, whose only previous film was a small time-travel comedy, has been handed the park. It is built now, on Isla Nublar, with a monorail, a lagoon grandstand and a petting zoo where toddlers ride baby triceratops, and the film’s opening joke is that the customers have got used to it. Attendance dips unless something new is unveiled, so the lab has made something new. *Jurassic World* knows what it is doing here and says so. It is a brisk, good-looking 124 minutes that never once weighs what it should.

The park is the best thing in it. Ed Verreaux designs a resort that looks like a real one, a main street of shops and restaurants with the jungle at the end of it, and John Schwartzman shoots the daytime crowds in the flat, hot light of a holiday brochure, which is the right choice. A gyrosphere rolls through a herd of grazing sauropods and for a minute we are simply tourists. Then the lagoon show: a great white is winched over the water, the mosasaur comes up for it, and the grandstand sinks so the crowd can watch it swim past the glass. We sat up, plainly delighted. Michael Giacchino picks that moment, and the moment at the gates, to let John Williams’s old theme through, and both times it lands.

Chris Pratt is the other reason to stay. He plays Owen, who trains the park’s four raptors from a walkway above their pen, as a man relaxed because he knows exactly how dangerous his job is, and his scenes with Omar Sy’s Barry, the two of them reading the animals and each other, are the film’s most convincing relationship. Jake Johnson has the best lines as Lowery in the control room, wearing an old [*Jurassic Park*](https://film.one/film/jurassic-park) T-shirt he knows he should not be wearing, and he is the only person on the island who seems to find any of this strange.

Bryce Dallas Howard has the harder job. Claire runs the operation, and the script by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly and Trevorrow keeps telling her off for it: she has not seen her nephews in years, she calls the animals assets, she cannot hold a baby dinosaur. Daniel Orlandi and April Ferry put her in white and in heels, and the film then makes the heels a joke against her for two hours. Howard plays it with more grace than it was written with. We found ourselves on her side and irritated with the film for not being.

The new animal is the disappointment. The Indominus rex has been assembled to frighten more than anything before it, and it comes out grey and long and hard to remember, a shape rather than a face. Its escape is well built, but afterwards it is a thing that appears and roars. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Hoskins wants to sell the raptors to the army, and every scene he is in stops the film so he can say so again. The nephews, Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins), carry a subplot about their parents that is raised twice and dropped. BD Wong gets one scene as Dr. Henry Wu to explain the science and is then mislaid.

Then there is the weight. In 1993 Steven Spielberg’s animals were often rubber and hydraulics; when the tyrannosaur put its head through a car roof, the roof gave. Here nearly everything is digital, and Kevin Stitt cuts so that nothing stands still long enough to be doubted. The night finale is several large creatures fighting in the dark, and we could not have told you at any moment which had the upper hand or, by then, which we were for. We had stopped minding. That is a bad thing to happen in a monster film.

*Jurassic Park* had one idea: the fences would not hold and the animals would not care what we had planned. *Jurassic World* has the same idea and a joke about having it, a park that builds a bigger dinosaur for bored customers, made by a studio doing much the same. Said once, it is a good joke. The film keeps saying it and then asks us to be frightened anyway.

Take children of about ten; the 12A allows it, and they will be scared by exactly the right amount and will not care about any of the above. Adults should sit on the aisle and save their trips to the foyer for the Hoskins scenes.

*Fi1m score 60, published 19 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics come down in favour, though not by a wide margin. The praise clusters on the dinosaur set pieces and the effects work, and on Chris Pratt, whom several reviewers credit with carrying thin material. A good number call it the best entry since the original, and the raptor motorcycle chase is mentioned more than once. Nearly everyone measures it against Spielberg’s film, and most conclude it cannot match that film’s sense of wonder while still doing its job as spectacle.

The reservations are about the people rather than the dinosaurs: stock characters, an underwritten plot and a self-referential streak that some read as sly and others as lazy. The spread is wide. Seven of the twenty-six reviews are negative, and the dissent sits mostly with the American broadsheets and the serious film press. The New York Times and The New Yorker find it dull and derivative, and Film Comment calls it a fiasco. Trade and genre outlets are kinder.

### Reviews we read (26)

- **Empire**, Chris Hewitt (85/100, inferred): Trevorrow's assured blockbuster is comfortably the best dino-outing since the original Jurassic Park, fresh and thrilling with a new monstrous hybrid dinosaur at its center. The critic praises the slow build, strong performances especially from Pratt and Howard, and the director's confident handling of spectacle and character arcs. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/jurassic-world-review/)
- **Total Film**, James Mottram (85/100, inferred): Jurassic World reminds us why we loved the original with a fabulously fresh spin on familiar material, delivering old-fashioned thrills in a smart, self-aware blockbuster. The critic singles out the excellent 3D, seamless effects blend, and electrifying finale as highlights while noting minor gripes with underdeveloped subplots. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/jurassic-world-review/)
- **Evening Standard**, David Sexton (80/100, inferred): Jurassic World is precisely what every Jurassic Park fan would hope for, delivering big thrills with a terrifying new dinosaur on the loose in the theme park setting. The critic highlights the raptor motorcycle chase and the core wonder of dinosaurs as the standout elements that make it well worth the price of admission. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/jurassic-world-review-totally-roarsome-10315580.html)
- **Little White Lies**, David Ehrlich (3/4/3): The film is a cynical self-reflexive take on jaded audiences and corporate spectacle that diagnoses creative bankruptcy but can't fix it. One brilliant moment stands out amid mostly bloodless action and unexciting set pieces. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/jurassic-world)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (4/5): The critic finds it a terrifically enjoyable and exciting summer spectacle with smart twists on the dinosaur theme-park concept and strong performances from Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. Spielberg's influence is evident throughout in the fun, savvy blockbuster execution. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/10/jurassic-world-review-chris-pratt-steven-spielberg-dinosaur-movie)
- **Vulture** (80/100, inferred): The film is one of the most exciting movies about people running away from stuff ever, thanks to its amazing special effects and rousing action sequences. It is a ride best experienced in IMAX and 3-D, with witty setups cribbed from Spielberg. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2015/06/jurassic-world-review.html)
- **The Times**, Camilla Long (75/100, inferred): The reviewer praises the bigger, better dinosaurs and especially Chris Pratt’s charismatic, irrepressible hero in this glossy, pacy clone of the original that delivers breathless thrills and unstoppable fun. It succeeds as an entertaining tribute thanks to its star and effects. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/jurassic-world-and-the-look-of-silence-7vn00gbzq3n)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (70/100, inferred): The critic views it as an enjoyable family film with teeth that delivers genteel PG-13 scares and solid dinosaur effects but cannot match the original’s magic. It singles out the realistic CGI creatures and the capable leads for praise while noting the story’s limited impact. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-jurassic-world-review-20150612-column.html)
- **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B-): The film is a goofy and fitfully entertaining summer movie that understands its place in the blockbuster pecking order but lacks the danger and white-knuckle excitement of the original. It features lively set pieces but feels like a modern, less tactile retread reliant on digital effects. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/jurassic-world-goes-back-to-the-park-but-the-danger-is-missing-1798184035)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (70/100, inferred): The film is a serviceable stab at reviving Spielberg's franchise and can reasonably claim the No. 2 spot among the series entries. It is sufficiently entertaining for audiences despite not being terribly scary and featuring a formulaic structure. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/jurassic-world-film-review-801334/)
- **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (3/5): It chomps through the time painlessly as slickly enjoyable summer fare but has no real reason for existing beyond the obvious and diminishes the original's grandeur. The biggest misstep is turning raptors into docile dogs. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/jurassic-world)
- **Slant Magazine** (2/4): The film can't decide whether it wants to be junk food or not, poking fun at some Hollywood tropes while indulging others. Its aspirations to cautionary cynicism are bound by franchise prerogatives, resulting in a mixed bag that won't fully satisfy either sensibility. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/jurassic-world/)
- **Variety**, Scott Foundas (50/100, inferred): The review finds it a vigorous but so-so reboot that delivers fun set pieces and warmer family moments yet falls short of the original’s awe and wonder. It singles out the impressive dinosaur visuals and Chris Pratt’s engaging performance for praise while criticizing underdeveloped ideas and frantic action. [Read](https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/jurassic-world-film-review-1201515439/)
- **Screen Daily** (35/100, inferred): The dinosaurs are more advanced but the humans and filmmaking are not, resulting in overkill with little genuine grandeur or awe. Trevorrow fails to capture the power or wonder of the rampaging creatures compared to Spielberg. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/jurassic-world-review/5089175.article)
- **IndieWire**, Greg Cwik (30/100, inferred): The film is a huge disappointment that fails to capture the magic or terror of the original. It prioritizes spectacle and self-referential winks over genuine thrills or substance. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-why-jurassic-world-is-such-a-huge-disappointment-61129/)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (30/100, inferred): The review calls the film doggedly dull for its first hour before delivering basic thrills, faulting it for failing to recapture the original’s awe under Spielberg’s shadow. It praises Chris Pratt’s relaxed presence amid the spectacle but notes the sequel’s bigger-louder formula leaves little lasting impact. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/fighting-monsters)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the reboot flabby and derivative, lumbering along while reminding viewers of Steven Spielberg’s superior touch on the franchise. It singles out the director’s inexperience and the film’s self-referential corporate branding for complaint. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/movies/review-in-jurassic-world-the-franchise-feeds-the-beast.html)
- **Film Comment**, Michael Sragow (20/100, inferred): The critic calls Jurassic World a distressing fiasco that fails to balance special effects with sentient characters. He singles out the thin, stereotypical characters and the film's inability to deliver genuine drama or wit. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/deep-focus-jurassic-world/)
- **Den of Geek**, Ryan Lambie (4/5): The critic finds Jurassic World an entertaining summer blockbuster that recaptures some of the original's wonderment and horror. He singles out the impressive dinosaur set-pieces and self-referencing humour for praise while noting thinly-drawn characters as a drawback. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/jurassic-world-review/)
- **/Film**, Peter Sciretta (8/10): The critic finds Jurassic World the best Jurassic Park film since the original, praising its thrilling action set pieces and fun nostalgic callbacks that serve the story. They single out the lack of a sense of wonder at the fully operational park and the unengaging main protagonist as drawbacks. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/538167/jurassic-world-review/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (75/100, inferred): The critic praises the tremendous effects and popcorn-chomping fun of the monster vs. monster action, though it doesn't recreate the original's wonder; overall a great time and effective sequel. [Read](https://deadline.com/2015/06/jurassic-world-review-chris-pratt-1201440738/)
- **Collider**, Perri Nemiroff (B-): The critic finds the film disappointing compared to Jurassic Park due to bland characters and weak plot points, but praises it as an effective CG-heavy popcorn movie with thrilling dinosaur action and nostalgic park elements. [Read](https://collider.com/jurassic-world-review/)
- **Paste**, Andy Crump (6.8): The review notes that while not a particularly good movie, it functions as a thrilling roller-coaster ride with fun diversions, meta-commentary, and reverence for the original, making it harebrained but entertaining. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/jurassic-world/jurassic-world)
- **Polygon**, Danielle Riendeau (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it a worthy popcorn movie that is big, exciting, and well-paced with a good climax and some substance beyond spectacle, though not as great as the original due to less memorable characters. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/10/8756325/jurassic-world-review-chris-pratt)
- **The Wrap** (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the screenplay nonsensical and the story disappointing, criticizing how it mummifies Chris Pratt's character into a flat, generic role; the film fails to deliver groundbreaking effects or an engaging story, feeling shabby compared to the original. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/jurassic-world-review-chris-pratt-bryce-dallas-howard-vincent-donofrio/)
- **Consequence** (30/100, inferred): The critic criticizes the film as an overstated, exhausting blockbuster that fails to capture the suspense of the originals, with poor CGI, unlikeable characters, and lazy meta-commentary, though it offers some fan service. [Read](https://consequence.net/2015/06/film-review-jurassic-world/)

## Details

- **Director:** Colin Trevorrow
- **Director:** Colin Trevorrow
- **Screenplay:** Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow
- **Story:** Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa
- **Cinematography:** John Schwartzman
- **Editor:** Kevin Stitt
- **Music:** Michael Giacchino
- **Production design:** Ed Verreaux
- **Costume design:** April Ferry, Daniel Orlandi
- **Producer:** Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley
- **Cast:** Chris Pratt as Owen; Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire; Irrfan Khan as Masrani; Vincent D'Onofrio as Hoskins; Ty Simpkins as Gray; Nick Robinson as Zach; Jake Johnson as Lowery; Omar Sy as Barry
- **Runtime:** 2h 04m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 12 June 2015
- **Genres:** Adventure, Science Fiction, Thriller
- **Budget:** $150 million
- **Box office:** $1.67 billion
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJJrkyHas78

## Where to watch in the US

- Hulu: streaming, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01
- Disney+: add-on, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-19.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 2016: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Jurassic Park* (1993), Fi1m 91: The one park, the one idea, and animals you could see breathing. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/jurassic-park.md)
- *Jaws* (1975), Fi1m 93: Spielberg with one shark, three men and a boat, and it still bites hardest. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/jaws.md)
- *Godzilla* (1954), Fi1m 88: The monster as grief rather than merchandise; slow, black and white, and still frightening. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/godzilla.md)
- *The Host* (2006): Bong Joon-ho’s river monster film, funny and sad by turns, with a family worth caring about.
- *Westworld* (1973): The theme park whose attractions stop taking orders, forty years before this one.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/jurassic-world