Writer: Ryan Bellgardt (Screenplay) Galen Christy (Story)
Starring: Perrey Reeves, Ryan Merriman, Katie Burgess, Erika Daly, Adam Hampton, Cate Jones, Rett Terrell
Plot: In the near future, 10 death row convicts are forced to compete in a virtual reality game that pits them against dinosaurs and each other.
Tagline – Win the games. Win your freedom.
Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: The Running Man with Dinosaurs
Story: The Jurassic Games starts in a world where entertainment has mixed with capital punishment, as death-row inmates get a chance of freedom by entering a virtual reality game against dinosaurs with the winner getting their freedom, but if you die in the game you will receive their lethal injection.
The show hosted by the charismatic Host (Merriman) is keeping the audience entertained, while Savannah (Reeves) is running the behind the show, getting the best shots for the audience. Anthony Tucker (Hampton) is one contestants and one who has been wrongful convicted of the murder, this is his last chance to make it back to his children, but the other 9 contestants are also eyeing their freedom.
Thoughts on The Jurassic Games
Characters – The Host is the man keeping the audience in the palm of his hands, his smile keeps everyone informed that we are watching murderers and that anything that happens to them is deserved for the crimes they have committed. Savannah is the director of the show, she picks the shots to make the audience happy, arranges the locations of the dinosaurs to make for the best television for the audience. Anthony Tucker is one of the contestants, he is wrongfully convicted of killing his wife and this is his chance of freedom. He isn’t like the rest of game, he does try to keep his humanity through the game. Joy is one of the deadliest contestants, she is one of the youngest people put on death row and kills for pure enjoyment.
Performances – Ryan Merriman has the charisma for this role, giving us a performance similar to what Richard Dawson gave us in The Running Man. Perrey Reeves is great as the director making sure the show is staying on next year, she shows the power she has in the scenes required as well as the calmness while dealing with the press. Adam Hampton is good in his role as the reluctant player never looking like a killer like the killers do. Katie Burgess makes for a good loose cannon with a black heart willing to kill for fun.
Story – The story here follows the likes of The Condemned, Gamer, Death Race and The Running Man by having convicted criminals given a chance of freedom by being placed into a life or death game for entertainment value. We get the idea that each character in the game has a different reason to be the psychotic figure along with the one who is innocent but being forced into the game. The political messages are here too as we always need to have a campaign about the moral side of the idea, this works too. The story seems to check every box for pure entertainment purposes.
Sci-Fi – The film does play with the idea of virtual reality worlds and is set in the future where this is possible, this helps the film stay in a position of believability during the film.
Settings – The settings are generic for the most part, but they do also fit the idea of a gameshow, the woods, the maze, the desert and the hosts chambers, everything we have come to expect.
Special Effects – The effects are noticeable, we know it is all CGI, but because this is a virtual reality world we can accept them not looking perfect because the world isn’t strictly real that we are going into.
Scene of the Movie – The Desert round.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Tucker’s kids watching isn’t convincing at all.
Final Thoughts –This is a hugely entertaining movie, it plays into a well loved sci-fi idea and ups the levels by doing the only thing left, add dinosaurs.
Overall: Sci-Fi surprise package, go and watch.
Rating