Hokeyboy

JP3 is to JP2 as Highlander 3 is to Highlander 2.

Better than the previous film, but still a waste of time.

Superboy

They're all fucking terrible, awful, horrifically stupid movies.

The only reason the first movie got away with it is because it had groundbreakings special effects. The whole movie is filled with stupidity.

The second movie ramped up all the worst qualities of the first movie: the preachiness, the general stupidity, and mass discontinuities.

The last movie wasn't dumber than the other movies, it was just a tired series by the time it came out, and the special effects weren't anything amazing.

dhmac

In the 1st two movies, the main plot dealt with people trying to create a tourist attraction with real dinosaurs in it. The 3rd movie dealt with rescuing a kid who was lost on the island due to parasailing next to it. Just the plot alone makes the 3rd one a lot dumber than the 1st two.

Superboy

The only saving grace of the first movie for me was that I saw it when I was a child. I can't stand watching it now because of how stupid it is. Now, I didn't know why exactly everyone was sitting around doing nothing when the computer systems went down. They should have immediately rebooted the system; instead, they sit around on their asses all night, doing jack shit. These brilliant people are running one of the most advanced amusement parks in thee world? And keep in mind, this whole time, they're still having stupid debates about what to do with the dinosaurs. If their message was the limits of human hubris, they missed the boat; the real message is that human stupidity knows no bounds.

Oh, and my favorite scene was when Muldoon and Ellie are being hunted by the raptors. So Muldoon is acting really sneaky, because he's a hunter and all that. He doesn't want to scare away his prey. Except that in this case, SCARING AWAY THE RAPTORS WOULD BE BENEFICIAL. Just one of many, many stupid scenes in the movie.

And the finale... where the T.Rex has apparently shrunk down to the size of a small RV. It towered over the Ford Explorers and you could hear it coming a mile away, but it somehow manages to sneak into the main exhibit hall.

Now the second movie, the main characters apparently didn't notice that everything went wrong the moment that they showed up to the island. The animals aren't some sovereign nation; they're property of the company, just like animals in a zoo or on a farm. So they go there to fuck their shit up, and promptly get attacked, and eaten, and get a bunch of other innocent people eaten and killed, all while being preachy about how immoral violence against animals is. I see these PETA types have their priorities in order.

Ingen didn't go to this island to kill the dinosaurs; they went there to capture them and bring them back to the mainland. The island probably can't support giant prehistoric beasts, and the competing life forms probably dont' exist in any semblance of equilibrium, so it's only a matter of time before they go extinct again; their best chance of survival really is in the hands of the company. All this movie needed was a Crying Indian.

I don't even really need to go into detail about how stupid the third movie was.

TGM

I still think III is wayyyyy better than Lost World.

Cellar Door

JPIII is worse than TLW by a mile. JPIII has a dumber plot, worse acting, more annoying characters, worse special effects, and a terrible ending.

dhmac

I think the best Jurassic Park isn't any of the movies - it's the original novel by Michael Crichton. And the 2nd best is Crichton's sequel novel, The Lost World. Well-made faithful film versions of both books would be extremely violent with a dark and cynical tone, and would blow away the movies that have been made so far.

brayzie

I liked the story in Jurassic Park. All the SF aspects and the plot point about the dinosaurs being smarter was pretty cool.

The way Superboy described JPII is exactly how I feel about it.

crazychris88

It amazes me more people here truly think Jurassic Park III is better than the Lost World . JP3 is seriously so Direct-to-DVD-ish I was kinda surprised it wasn't called Carnosaur IV

dhmac

I mean I get someone hating The Lost World because there's a lot to hate in it. It's when that same person adds something like "...but JP3 was fun" that's totally to me.

I wonder if they watched both movies again back-to-back, would they still have the same opinion.

whotony

Bringing this back around since the latest JP movie has been out now for a bit
and I’m rewatching the first bunch of them.

It becomes my vote for the worst of the bunch.

It’s essentially a rehash of JP2 which is pretty awful already.

In JP 2 I can’t get past how all the people on the Venture were killed by a Rex that was trapped in the hull of the ship.
Especially bad is the hand on the wheel.
How did the Rex get in there?

There was a quick throwaway line after the ship crashed at the dock.
Someone asked, maybe it was Malcom, if there where anymore Dino’s in the ship. A guy says no and says something about the baby being brought in on a copter.
So other Dinos on board was answered in the movie.

rw2516

The T Rex running around loose in LA in Lost World is the best thing across the entire franchise.

whotony

I’m doing that right now.

Man that guy who plays Billy. So creepy with those cold dead eyes.
There’s something about that guy that face, that blank stare. Those doll face eyes.

TomOpus

I must've seen a different movie. I don't remember anything​ in L.A.

GoldenJCJ

I know you know this but it was San Diego...and it was the low point of the series*.

TomOpus

I liked watching a T-Rex running around San Diego. Not quite as fun as the SD scenes in Top Gun, though.

whotony

The movie’s title is appropriate.

As for JP2 and JP3. There are good and a lot of bad in both but I’ll take 3 over 2.

It’s short but there is no filler.

Michael Corvin

I used to think the same about 2 & 3, but having rewatched them both multiple times in the last year I've changed my mind.

The Lost World is a well crafted movie with a few missteps. JP3 is a decent monster movie, but the characters suck, the climax is at the beginning of the movie and it lacks an ending.

B5Erik

The poll is now way outdated...

But I just re-watched JP2/The Lost World and really liked it a lot. JP3 is fun and entertaining, but the characters aren't as good. JP3 is just a fun dinosaur romp without those things that elevated the first two movies.

JW is probably my 3rd favorite in the series, with JW2 probably coming in last (just below JP3). I don't dislike any of them, but I REALLY like JP, JP2, and JW. The other two are just fairly good, entertaining dinosaur/monster movies.

Mabuse

All the sequels are terrible. Only the original is worth watching. It’s successfuly suspenseful and has likeable characters with distinct characterization.

Mike86

I would say Fallen Kingdom is the worst one easily. I really have no desire to watch it again and think it’s one of the worst big blockbusters of the last few years ah least.

Bluelitespecial

I decided to go see it last Thursday, and it takes the place of #3 as the worst in the series. They should have listened to Dr. Malcolm in the beginning and that's it. I wanted to see everyone get eaten by the Dinosaurs except For Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and the young Girl. As far as the ending goes it would never happen.

Mabuse

Re: The San Diego t-Rex in The Lost World. It is a lame sequence, but it is heavily influenced by a number of movies including the original silent The Lost World, King Kong, and oddly enough Dracula. The whole “ship arrives baring deadly cargo with all crew dead” is straight up Dracula. It’s a curiosity.

GoldenJCJ

I would be perfectly happy if the only two JP movies were the original and Jurassic World. I think JW mostly works as a direct sequel to the original.

Mabuse

Jurassic World is like a pageant of unlikeable characters.