There are any number of reasons to expect the worst from Jurassic Park III. It’s the second sequel to the original Jurassic Park, and sequels, as a rule, are supposed to get progressively worse. In addition, it has been eight years since the first film came out, and the computer-generated lizards that seemed so ground-breaking back then have become all too common; thanks to Godzilla, Dinosaur, Evolution and similar films, the presence of larger-than-life reptiles virtually guarantees a film’s mediocrity.

As if these factors weren’t enough, Jurassic Park III is, at about an hour and a half, unusually short, so audiences may think they aren’t getting their money’s worth; and the creative minds behind the first two films — director Steven Spielberg and novelist Michael Crichton — had little to do with this entry in the franchise.

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