5 Things That Still Don’t Make Sense About Jurassic World

It’s hard to believe that Jurassic World turns 10 years old today. Even though the movie kicked off new stories for a beloved franchise, and has made billions of dollars, there’s no denying its more divisive nature. It took a premise well-loved by fans and made something new out of it, which was always going to provoke a reaction, both positive and negative. Some fans were head over heels for the stories told in the latest iteration, and just as many were baffled by certain decisions. Even those who loved the films have lingering questions, and that’s fine. Fans are still debating details about the original Jurassic Park movie, and there’s no denying its relevance in pop culture history.

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Jurassic Park was based on Michael Crichton’s novel, with a few changes. The other movies in the trilogy would dance around with this premise, pulling details here and there from the books. Then there’s Jurassic World, which didn’t have a book to rely on. The film begins 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, and during that time, executives have swooped in and turned the island into a successful theme park. It’s the thing Hammond always dreamed of, with a few catches, of course. Jurassic World would become the fourth in the franchise, and kick off a new series of events, some of which still have us scratching our heads.

1) Where’s the Security?

The Jurassic World theme park portrayed in the movie may be bigger in scale than Hammond ever dreamed of, but it seemed to have kept a few core principles to heart. To start with, the crowd alone makes it pretty clear that this park isn’t just for millionaires to explore. In other words, the average person can seemingly afford it. The other principle Jurassic World unintentionally seemed to follow is a lack of planning regarding security. On the surface, it all looks great and safe, but it’s when things go wrong that it suddenly becomes painfully clear how lacking it is.

There are a few examples of where and how security is quite lax in the part, and we’re not talking about the obvious dinosaurs escaping. First, there’s the Gyrosphere adventure; when that ride was closed down (because of the escaping dinosaur emergency), there was only one employee responsible for closing down the ride and getting everyone back. One would think that in a true emergency, some form of security would be responsible for rounding up vulnerable humans.

Next, there’s what happened with the visitors and the Pteranodons. These winged creatures quickly gained access to the tourists, most of whom were very helpfully rounded up into a tight area. It’s a counterintuitive problem, as the whole reason these people were in an enclosed space was for their safety. So where are the guards? There should be, at the very least, a holdout team responsible for keeping dinosaurs from breaching this point. Two gate guards do not cut it.

2) Dr. Henry Wu’s Heel Turn

Fans were pretty thrilled when they learned that Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong), who first appeared in Jurassic Park, would be making another appearance in Jurassic World. In the first film, he is an ambitious scientist swept up in Hammond’s ideals. He’s passionate about his work, especially prioritizing preserving the species. In other words, it’s pretty easy for dinosaur enthusiasts to love the character.

However, the Dr. Henry Wu portrayed in Jurassic World has changed a lot over the years. Somewhere along the way, this ambitious scientist sold his soul to corporations. His design for the Indominus Rex helps to drive home how much he has changed. He’s more interested in making money than in any ethical debates, and that’s concerning for this character. It feels like a sudden shift to viewers.

To be fair, Dr. Henry Wu’s appearance was still very much appreciated by the fans. In particular, people loved his comment about Jurassic World‘s dinosaurs and their aesthetics, mainly how they’ve already been modified. This explains their lack of feathers and is a nice hat tip to modern discoveries about dinosaurs. Likewise, his character arc is surprisingly complex, letting him evolve throughout the latest series. It’s a highlight of the stories, letting Wong tell viewers a tale of a scientist’s path to discovery, understanding, and then redemption.

3) The Gyrospheres

It makes complete sense that the team behind Jurassic World would work hard to find new and innovative ways to let visitors safely view the dinosaurs. However, we can all agree that the Gyrosphere was not it, right? Even the intro video (hosted by Jimmy Fallon) had viewers questioning its safety before the ride even began. Let’s look at it this way: even if the ride did everything it promised, it still doesn’t seem safe. It’s the illusion of safety at its best. Worse, when things go wrong, the guests are inherently isolated, significantly increasing the danger.

The whole premise is that these spheres can let ride-goers run between dinosaurs. The tech allows for the guests to see out, but prevents the dinosaurs from seeing in (except for the Indominus Rex). The spherical design seems pretty dangerous and useless. Let’s ignore the safety features for a moment and look at it practically. These spheres are roaming through a field with dinosaurs. So, the odds of accidentally rolling through dinosaur droppings seem pretty high, right? That would take the buzz out of the ride pretty quickly, especially as it smeared over the sphere.

The Indominus Rex proves that the spheres do not hold up to attacks from determined carnivorous dinosaurs either. Ideally, that should never be put to the test, but it is still a vital safety element to consider. If the spheres can handle an aggressive attack, the guests should never be allowed to go off unsupervised in them.

4) The Indominus Rex

There are so many questions revolving around the Indominus Rex. To start with, it still doesn’t make sense that the park believed people would get sick of dinosaurs. People still go to theme parks every year, regardless of new attractions. While a new ride can revitalize a park, certainly there’s some middle ground that isn’t creating all new (and highly dangerous) dinosaurs.

Likewise, it seems surprising that the team responsible for raising the Indominus Rex to adulthood would so consistently be surprised by her behavior. Did she suddenly flip a switch and decide it was time to earn her freedom? Their inability to keep up with her is surprising, as any animal caretaker can tell you, watching and understanding the charges is a basic premise of the job.

5) The Military Application of Dinosaurs

The events of Jurassic World would probably not have happened if not for one character’s militaristic plan. Vic Hoskins, played by Vincent D’Onofrio, is the current head of InGen operations, and he wants to turn the Velociraptors into military weapons/animals. He’s also the one behind the Indominus Rex, hence causing every other problem that follows. Hoskins specifically wants to utilize the intelligence of Raptors to his own advantage, arrogantly assuming he can control such intelligent creatures. This is also apparently why he had the Indominus Rex created using Raptor genes.

To put it simply, the whole film showcases a series of horrible decisions, with Hoskins working behind the scenes. It’s honestly a little absurd how it all leads back to one character (and corporate greed, but that is a common theme for Jurassic Park). Even on the surface, this plan to design a military application for dinosaurs feels far-fetched. His best-case scenario plan is putting these dangerous critters into the wild and expecting them to follow commands. Even previous films have made it clear why Hoskins’ plan won’t work, and InGen should know better. The Lost World: Jurassic Park had InGen take two dinosaurs off the island, and that went downhill in a predictable fashion. While it’s believable that InGen would overlook its history in favor of greed, it still feels a little too simple.

Vic Hoskins’ entire plan rests on the shoulders of Owen Grady’s ability to train his group of Raptors. Owen’s training process did have some positive results, but even in the beginning, it was clear that there were limitations to the commands these clever creatures would be willing to accept. Thus, it’s hard to picture them being successfully used in any situation that doesn’t already take place on the island (and we all saw how that went!).