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Jurassic Park III
Universal Pictures


6.6

based on 30 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 85 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

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

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...

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.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Fast and funny and brings back some of the wonder to the series.

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.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Anything, Steven, anything would be better than making us watch the same movie again.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Another of many recent Hollywood plotless wonders.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

This is a monster movie -- 92 minutes, lots of action, lots of green legs stomping, get in, get out.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

LA Weekly Paul Malcolm

More of the same -- only less so.

Wall Street Journal Ed Epstein

Exemplifies Hollywood's standard practice of stomping a brilliant concept beyond recognition.

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.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

The story's tired, as are the main characters.

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?

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Has to be the sorriest excuse for a reprise since "Highlander — The Final Dimension."

USA Today Mike Clark

Even the special effects alone aren't worth the price of admission.

Variety Derek Elley

Game ride that makes the two previous installments look like models of classic filmmaking.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

The "Jurassic Park" movie franchise does not evolve. Quite the opposite: It degenerates at great speed.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

Drama is minimal and character nonexistent.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Stinks worse than dino dung. Sure, the creatures look good.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A serious been-there-done-that number.

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.

Jurassic Park III Universal Pictures

Jurassic Park III
Universal Pictures