Dear Jack,

You’re the most famous palaeontologist since Ross from Friends. Which is kind of sad because you’re actually a palaeontologist with years of study under your belt. Your behind-the-scenes presence in all the Jurassic Park releases has helped provide a realistic-ish portrayal of what would happen if humans faced off against dinosaurs. 

I say realistic-ish because you yourself admitted that you had to curb your expertise for the sake of entertainment, which is admirable. It’s one thing to be a consultant about dinosaurs, but it’s another to consciously suppress your knowledge for the betterment of the movie. Although, you have to agree, velociraptors are scarier without the feathers. 

Don’t get me wrong; your most recent project, Jurassic World, was entertaining as hell. It isn’t every day you get to see an alpha standoff between a genetically altered mega-dinosaur and a T-rex. My inner child pretty much passed out from excitement.

But as entertaining as it was, this showdown is part of the problem. Jurassic World strayed too far away from being a movie about dinosaurs to being a summer blockbuster about “monsters.”

Your input in the original trilogy was based on fact, but Jurassic World had a new twist involving humans tampering with gene-modification to create a new, enhanced species of dinosaur. The film shows us what would happen if that dinosaur was raised in captivity only to escape and wreak havoc on unsuspecting tourists in a prehistoric-themed amusement park (same thing happened when I played Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs). 

It’s the type of ideal scenario for a classic Hollywood monster mash. When our mega dinosaur is loose in the forest and an elite team of soldiers goes in to contain it, the bloodbath that follows closely resembles something out of Alien: lots of screaming and people being flung around. What’s the best way to show this creature is a force to be reckoned with? Throw some collateral damage its way.

That type of arc opens doors for even more clichés, blatant and excessive foreshadowing, and inappropriate moments of comedy and romance that strip away realism and predictable character growth.

I for one enjoyed the minor details you helped provide: the velociraptors, using their hind legs to aggressively climb their prey (similar to hungry hyenas), or the rotting teeth that can be seen when our antagonist dino sniffs out Chris Pratt. I would have liked to see more of that.

Jurassic World is definitely entertaining. It’s a summer blockbuster. I get that. And as far as summer blockbusters go, it hit the mark. I had fun watching it, as did my girlfriend (who was there for Chris Pratt). I laughed, felt tense, and even jumped out of my seat a couple of times. If this is the trend that any sequel will follow, I’d be okay with it. I just hope if you are to be attached again, that you’ll have more of a say with the how the movie pans out.

I’m sure the success of Jurassic World will help finance your goal to bring Chickenosaurus to life.