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Jurassic Park III
Universal Pictures

Jurassic Park III reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 42 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.6 out of 10
based on 30 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 85 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for intense sci-fi terror and violence

Starring Sam Neill, Téa Leoni, William H. Macy, Michael Jeter, Laura Dern, and Alessandro Nivola

Continues the adventure that began with "Jurassic Park" and "The Lost World."


GENRE(S): Sci-fi  
WRITTEN BY: Peter Buchman
Alexander Payne
Jim Taylor
Michael Crichton (characters)
 
DIRECTED BY: Joe Johnston  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: December 11, 2001 
Video: December 11, 2001 
Theatrical: July 18, 2001 
RUNNING TIME: 85 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Not as awe-inspiring as the first film or as elaborate as the second, but in its own B-movie way, it's a nice little thrill machine.
70
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Fast and funny and brings back some of the wonder to the series.
Read Full Review
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Definitely still beating a dead dinosaur here, but the film is leaner, more exciting and superior in every way to the last outing.
Read Full Review
63
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Anything, Steven, anything would be better than making us watch the same movie again.
Read Full Review
63
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Another of many recent Hollywood plotless wonders.
Read Full Review
63
Boston Globe Jay Carr
What makes it worth sitting through is the chance it offers to catch up on the technical advances since the last installment.
Read Full Review
63
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
Despite all its talk of genetic engineering and its deliberately stupid characters, the unintended message of Jurassic Park III is that when it comes to art and entertainment, you can't beat human DNA.
Read Full Review
60
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
The sheer physical presence of these creatures is much more believable and convincing than what can be generously characterized as the film's plot.
Read Full Review
60
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Isn't terribly frightening or gory, and at times it's even atmospheric. It also has a sense of humor, and the digs at the prequels hit pay dirt.
Read Full Review
60
Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark
The ending is so absurd, in fact, that it feels like it was improvised by a committee of 6-year-olds. If the raptors truly were intelligent, they'd have eaten the final reel.
50
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
The whole enterprise sags and wheezes like the tired, we're-in-this-strictly-for-the-money sequel it really is.
Read Full Review
50
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
This is a monster movie -- 92 minutes, lots of action, lots of green legs stomping, get in, get out.
Read Full Review
50
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The screenplay is so stale that even fans of the previous "Jurassic" installments might think this is one clone too many.
Read Full Review
50
New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson
At its best, Jurassic Park III is eerily similar to some of the more recent dinosaur-themed video games on the market.
Read Full Review
50
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Has no pretentions to be anything more than a goose-bumpy fantasy theme-park ride for kids, but it's such a routine ride.
Read Full Review
50
TV Guide Ken Fox
While kids of all ages will want to see it, the movie is loud and occasionally brutal, and while the body count is relatively low, it's still pretty scary stuff.
Read Full Review
42
Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
Maybe if you're younger than 10 you'll be scared or thrilled by this film. Otherwise, be prepared for one of the most unexciting pictures this summer.
Read Full Review
40
LA Weekly Paul Malcolm
More of the same -- only less so.
Read Full Review
40
Wall Street Journal Ed Epstein
Exemplifies Hollywood's standard practice of stomping a brilliant concept beyond recognition.
40
New York Magazine John Leonard
With Joe Johnston directing instead of Spielberg, who executive-produces, and a scrum of screenwriters, none named Crichton, the franchise suffers some negligence.
Read Full Review
40
Washington Post Rita Kempley
The story's tired, as are the main characters.
Read Full Review
40
The New York Times A.O. Scott
All it wants to do is scare a smile onto your face, and it often succeeds. After all, how can a movie that offers Michael Jeter as a mercenary not be fun?
Read Full Review
40
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
When a cell-phone gag is the most exciting or inventive thing in a big summer dinosaur movie, you have to wonder if the species might not be ready for extinction.
Read Full Review
38
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Has to be the sorriest excuse for a reprise since "Highlander — The Final Dimension."
Read Full Review
38
USA Today Mike Clark
Even the special effects alone aren't worth the price of admission.
Read Full Review
30
Variety Derek Elley
Game ride that makes the two previous installments look like models of classic filmmaking.
Read Full Review
25
New York Post Jonathan Foreman
The "Jurassic Park" movie franchise does not evolve. Quite the opposite: It degenerates at great speed.
Read Full Review
20
Village Voice Michael Atkinson
Drama is minimal and character nonexistent.
Read Full Review
20
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Stinks worse than dino dung. Sure, the creatures look good.
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20
Washington Post Desson Thomson
A serious been-there-done-that number.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 85 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Destiny W. gave it a10:
i am the biggest dinosaur fan in the world. the movie was great. the new dino spinisaurus was good. i would say it needed more dinosaurs more killing and the ending needs to be good and it can end in a fight. o yeah why do the people have to survive on an island full of meat eat, fast running, good swimming dinosaurs i just dont get it i would say nobody would make it for 2 min. i would though. ok the movie was good but not as good as the first 2 just know that. whatch it and rate it. the fourth one is coming out cant want to see that and it has my favorite actor in it i think it is going tobe good. do you i do. the effects in the movie were good the dinosaurs needed to be bigger and some of the actors were very good.

Jeremy H. gave it a3:
This movie is a tragic trilogy-maker. Let's hope Jurassic Park IV recovers. It need Sam Neill to exist, we all know that. It wouldn't be the same without him.

Joyce C. gave it a10:
Since the adaption of the dinasour's on the Island is over, they go through something we call maturing. The dinasours have matured over time, became smarter, more intelligent and brutal than ever imagined.

JC A. gave it a10:
Very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very good. The best of all Jurassic Park's.

Jared C. gave it a10:
JJ1 was the beginning of dinasour excitement where a couple of opinions, one creation, and a special whoop cream can change the function of the island. Ian Malcolm is done, and we know that, it would be exhausting having him as the main role in this, he is only good in the first two and never should be chosen as a character in JJ4, unless if he gets eaton in that one. Allen Grant, well he is the main main character, he belongs in this one, since Ian has no clue what a dinasour skeleton or raptor intelligence is, he would be picked as the last main character for this. Allen Grant is smart, witty, and serious within everything, he takes everything deeply and ambitiously, he uses the advice he gots and uses it as the main road in this hit thriller. JJ3 is not intense or terrifying, but it is adventurous, exciting, and swashbuckling. More people die, although I wish that Billy dude would have died, it would have been better. In my opinion JJ3 is here to stay because it has a sudden and stable focus and balance. It is short and sweet, a lovable film just like the first two. From my words, the best one to worst one: JJ1, JJ3, JJ2 (The Lost world). I do not like JJ2 as much because it has a heavy situation, but without any creative advice Ian has in store for safety, he never uses because al he has is chemical witt. As they say in JJ3, and I totally agree, Ian Malcolm is preachy, and talks all about chaos, and he is always high on himself. Well Allen Grant, he can handle anything. They can make seven more Jurassic Park films and have allen Grant as the main character, even since he is now 60. Great job Allen, your performance has crafted a role in such way to show a different type of situation where Raptor's are extinctively smarter than any other animal on the Planet and are capable to take over the planet if there were such species surviving on Earth. Great job: 10/10.

Bob Y. gave it a4:
Yuck. just another excuse to capatilze on the success of the original movie.... everything is bad. Not even that thrilling as the characters have no respect for their surroundings throughout the entire film.... they just walk around like they're chillin in their backyards or something.

Spencer K. gave it a5:
Spinisaurus only eats fish says my friend Noah so it can not kill the T-Rex in three.

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