There might be spoilers ahead. You have been warned!

Bad word play in the title of this article aside, “Jurassic World” was a good movie. Granted, I’ve never seen any of the previous “Jurassic Park” films (at least not all the way through), but maybe that’s a good thing, because I’m sure all our parents who saw the first film 22 years ago will definitely make comparisons, but I wasn’t constantly thinking of the other movies while watching “Jurassic World”.

I didn’t even make an effort to watch any of the other films before seeing this one, and that didn’t make “World” any more or less of a good movie for me. This film does a good job at saying “We know this won’t be as good as the original, and we won’t try to be as good as the original”. With subtle (and also not-so-subtle) references to the first film and even a character from the first film, as I found out after looking up things about the original, this film tries to give credit to the movie that started everything, and even though I’ve never seen “Jurassic Park”, I think it did a decent job in that regard.

Chris Pratt has very much become a household name in the past year, and I can’t help but feel proud. Seeing his transformation from chunky and dimwitted Andy in NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” to a muscular and brooding leading man has been quite interesting, and he was quite enjoyable as raptor trainer Owen Grady. Not only is he funny when he needs to be – although Pratt has proved in other movies he can be funny – he is also good at being serious when he needs to be, and it’s makes me curious to see how Mr. Pratt would do if he was in a purely serious role. He’s definitely an actor to be watching out for if you’re not already.

Although Pratt and the other actors do good jobs of playing their characters, they’re n0t given a lot to do in terms of their characters’ personalities. Bryce Dallas Howard, a decent actress in her own right, is forced into playing the overly cliched role of the control freak business woman, while Pratt, her romantic interest, is the macho nature man, telling her what to do and to stay back when danger is around. After the female empowerment powerhouse that was May’s “Mad Max: Fury Road”, I have to say that I was disappointed at the treatment of the female gender in “Jurassic World”.

While the feminist in me wants to scorn this movie, I can’t, really. Howard’s character Claire does prove that she is not one to be overlooked, and that pleased me.

The main thing that I expect people to remember about “Jurassic World” is the dinosaurs, and they are very memorable. From the Godzilla-like Indominus Rex to the ragtag group of raptors trained by Pratt’s Owen, the dinos are easily the best part of the movie. Today’s animated graphics show a new light on the life-like qualities of the dinosaurs, and “Jurassic World” is clear proof of that.

The story was easy to follow and I never found myself confused at what was going on, which is a detail I pay attention to when I watch a movie. While the characters were slightly underwritten and cliche, they were likable and well-acted, and I cared about their survival. The visuals and the animation of the dinosaurs were fantastic. I was never bored throughout the movie, which is something that any moviegoer can appreciate.

Similar to what I said in my review for “Age of Ultron”, the movie had flaws and there were some things that could have been done better, but overall, I had fun watching it. If you are in need of a fun summer flick, “Jurassic World” is the one to see, even though I’m sure you already have.

Rated PG-13 for violence and language

Final Verdict: 8 out of 10