THIS TIME IT’S NOT JUST A WALK IN THE PARK!

Paul (William H. Macy) and Amanda Kirby (Téa Leoni) head for the dinosaur islands to find their son who went missing there while paragliding; the couple trick paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) into reliving his worst nightmare. The third movie is surprisingly good; its sole ambition is to serve thrills and it does so expertly. It also benefits from an appropriately short running time. Nice to see Neill again; it’s also easy to sympathize with Macy and Leoni in their quest. A bunch of new dinos keeps things interesting; the visual effects are excellent. You will also get a kick out of a certain elusive cell phone…

2001-U.S. 93 min. Color. Directed by Joe Johnston. Screenplay: Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor. Cast: Sam Neill (Alan Grant), William H. Macy (Paul Kirby), Téa Leoni (Amanda Kirby), Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan, Michael Jeter… Laura Dern. 

Trivia: Co-executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. Followed by Jurassic World (2015).