Product Details

• Actors: Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan
• Directors: Joe Johnston
• Writers: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, Michael Crichton, Peter Buchman
• Producers: Cheryl A. Tkach, David Womark, Kathleen Kennedy
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: December 11, 2001
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (388 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXXR
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,302 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Surpassing expectations to qualify as an above-average sequel, Jurassic Park III is nothing more or less than a satisfying popcorn adventure. A little cheesier than the first two Jurassic blockbusters, it's a big B movie with big B-list stars (including Laura Dern, briefly reprising her Jurassic Park role), and eight years of advancing computer-generated-image technology give it a sharp edge over its predecessors. While adopting the jungle spirit of King Kong, the movie refines Michael Crichton's original premise, and its dinosaurs are even more realistic, their behavior more detailed, and their variety--including flying pteranodons and a new villain, the spinosaurus--more dazzling and threatening than ever. These advancements justify the sequel, and its contrived plot is just clever enough to span 90 minutes without wearing out its welcome.

Posing as wealthy tourists, an adventurous couple (William H. Macy, Téa Leoni) convince paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and his protégé (Allesandro Nivola) to act as tour guides on a flyover trip to Isla Sorna, the ill-fated "Site B" where all hell broke loose in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. In truth, they're on a search-and-rescue mission to find their missing son (Trevor Morgan), and their plane crash is just the first of several enjoyably suspenseful sequences. Director Joe Johnston (October Sky) embraces the formulaic plot as a series of atmospheric set pieces, placing new and familiar dinosaurs in misty rainforests, fiery lakes, and mysterious valleys, turning JP3 into a thrill ride with impressive highlights (including a T. rex versus spinosaurus smack-down), adequate doses of wry humor (from the cowriters of Election), and an upbeat ending that's corny but appropriate, proving that the symptoms of sequelitis needn't be fatal. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

A further rematch of Homo sapiens versus the velociraptor, with honors fairly even by the end. The raptor has longer teeth and, we now learn, more refined social skills, but man has the satellite phone. After an absence of one movie, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) returns to a dino-packed island with a bullish assistant (Alessandro Nivola) and a couple of lily-livered adventurers (William H. Macy and Téa Leoni). The result, directed not by Steven Spielberg but by Joe Johnston, is the most streamlined installment of the franchise so far. For your money, you get no ethics lectures, not much science, and a handful of half-baked characters; everything is set, in other words, for a spirited game of chase-and-chew. Isn't that why you bought a ticket in the first place? In English and Raptorspeak, though sadly without subtitles. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Odds are we won't leave this island alive, January 12, 2006

By 

Matt (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jurassic Park III (Widescreen Collector's Edition) (DVD)

It would be nearly impossible to trump the first Jurassic Park film. People were blown away by that movie. The technology was cutting edge and the premise was nearly magical in its element of fantasy. Making a third installment to the series presents an obvious challenge. How do you uphold the level of entertainment set by the first two films? The answer: new dinosaurs...

In this film, we get the addition of a few new dinos. The Spinosaur, being even bigger and badder than the T-Rex, is the "guy on the block" now. Flying pteranodons are introduced on Isla Sorna, where they were once housed in a huge cage, now left to patrol the skies freely. The Velociraptors have also gotten an upgrade. They look a bit more menacing than the Raptors from the original Jurassic Park. These new additions are what make this film what it is.

The first film was set on lush pastures of modeled prehistoric land. The setting for this film is far more delapidated. This is the land the dinosaur rules. The premise of the film is a bit cheesy, but you barely notice, given the amazing production and spectacle of the film. Once on the island, all you experience is the thrill of the search and the chase. The fact that a divorced couple are searching for their wayward child becomes secondary to the dinosaur action that ensues once they arrive.

I knew I would enjoy this movie simply because I love the idea of Jurassic Park, yet I was pleasantly surprised by just how good it turned out to be.

The DVD is bursting with bonus material. It would take hours to get through it all - but it's well worth it. There's an extensive "Making of.." featurette, a "New Dinosaurs" featurette, a tour of the studio in which the dinosaurs were conceived and brought to life, storyboards, DVD-rom options, etc... The Special Edition certainly does the process of the movie justice, providing deep insight into the production.

Highly recommended.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars BETTER THAN THE SECOND BUT NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST..., August 14, 2004

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jurassic Park III (Widescreen Collector's Edition) (DVD)

This film has outstanding special effects, excellent cinematography, a wonderful cast, and a thin script. While it is better than the second film in the Jurassic Park series, it comes nowhere near equaling the original Jurassic Park movie.

This film sees two of the original stars return, Sam Neill, as paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, and Laura Dern, in a cameo reprising her original role. Add William Macy and Tea Leoni, as a divorced couple who kidnap Dr. Grant and take him to Isla Sorna, site of Jurassic Park II, on a search and rescue mission for their twelve year old son, who disappeared eight weeks earlier while parasailing over Isla Sorna with his mother's boyfriend.

After the initial breathtaking, opening scene of the boy and his mother's friend parasailing, the movie starts going south almost immediately, which is not to say that it is not enjoyable. It is, but not as enjoyable as it could have been, had it been filmed with an intelligent script.

The movie is only an hour and a half long. In the process of making it a succinct film, the actors race through the plot, leaving certain questions unanswered or certain issues unexplained, in the almost indecent haste to get the film over with.

The actions of some of the characters are often unbelievable. Clearly terrorized, the characters do not hesitate to run off by themselves. They also do not hesitate to make as much noise as possible. Obviously, they do this in order to put themselves into a situation where they will be injured, chased, or eaten by a dinosaur.

As I said, little thought appears to have been given to formulating an intelligent script. Still, if the viewer is willing to suspend all rational thought, one should get some enjoyment from viewing this moderately entertaining film

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best summer blockbuster!, December 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Jurassic Park III (Widescreen Collector's Edition) (DVD)

Jurassic Park III was definitely the best of the summer blockbusters, though it got very underrated. This is a sequal...what more could you expect? A huge dramatic film? I think not. This is Jurassic Park...duh! Jurassic Park III had a great cast list, including the talents of Sam Neill (who starred in the first Jurassic Park movie), William H. Macy, Tea Leoni, Trevor Morgan, and even a cameo role by Laura Dern (who also starred in the first one). I liked Jeff Goldblum better as a supporting character in Jurassic Park more than the leading character in The Lost World. Sam Neill is the real star of the Jurassic Park trilogy!

The plot of this movie is very simple and straight-forward, which makes it easier for audiences to concentrate more on the awesome action, special effects, and the dinosaurs! Also, it's easy for most people to understand.(...)

The only bad thing about this movie was that it was too short! (...) The other two movies had been over two hours long, but Jurassic Park III was only about 92 minutes long. Also, the ending was okay, but it was a little bit cheesy. Still, I enjoyed Jurassic Park III. It was the best movie I saw all summer long. Plus, the ending didn't really seem complete. Perhaps a 4th Jurassic Park movie is in the works? Jurassic Park III has some of the best special effects all summer long. JP3's special effects were even better than the special effects in movies like Planet of the Apes, The Mummy Returns, and Pearl Harbor! And the DVD for this movie looks really great, too with some very cool special features like behind-the-sceens, the making of the new dinosaurs, cast & crew interviews, etc. Joe Johnson did a great job as director and filled Steven Speilberg's shoes perfectly. This movie needs more recognization and credit! It was better than what most critics claimed it would be. If there's one movie you must rent on DVD this winter than it definitely has to be Jurassic Park III!