| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 63 |
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
Anything, Steven, anything would be better than making us watch the same movie again.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
Another of many recent Hollywood plotless wonders.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 40 |
LA Weekly
Paul Malcolm
More of the same -- only less so.
|
| 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.
|
| 40 |
Washington Post
Rita Kempley
The story's tired, as are the main characters.
|
| 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?
|
| 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.
|
| 38 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
Has to be the sorriest excuse for a reprise since "Highlander — The Final Dimension."
|
| 38 |
USA Today
Mike Clark
Even the special effects alone aren't worth the price of admission.
|
| 30 |
Variety
Derek Elley
Game ride that makes the two previous installments look like models of classic filmmaking.
|
| 25 |
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
The "Jurassic Park" movie franchise does not evolve. Quite the opposite: It degenerates at great speed.
|
| 20 |
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
Drama is minimal and character nonexistent.
|
| 20 |
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Stinks worse than dino dung. Sure, the creatures look good.
|
| 20 |
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
A serious been-there-done-that number.
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