Jurassic World appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.00:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. I expected a terrific transfer from World and I got it.
Sharpness always excelled. From start to finish, the movie offered stellar definition, with awesome clarity and accuracy. I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and the image also lacked edge haloes. Of course, print flaws remained absent.
Don’t expect anything out of the ordinary from the film’s palette, as it emphasized teal like so many other movies these days. Some amber also popped up, but the bluish tint dominated. That was uncreative but the hues seemed well-rendered.
Blacks also came across well. Dark tones appeared deep and rich, and low-light shots brought us smooth, clear imagery. Really, I could find nothing about which to complain, as this became a consistently stellar presentation.
When you bought your fancy-pants home theater, you did so for material like the dynamic DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack of Jurassic World. Throughout the film, the mix offered audio elements that appreared well-placed and balanced. Music showed good stereo presence, and quieter moments exhibited a fine sense of place and atmosphere.
Of course, you didn’t buy World - or the aforementioned home theater – to listen to the film’s “quieter moments”, and the flick’s many action sequences kicked into high gear. Dinosaurs stomped around the room to convincing effect, and fights/chases related to those critters cranked in fine fashion. The whole package combined to give us a vibrant, lively soundscape that used the various channels in an exciting manner.
Audio quality seemed top-notch. Effects became the most substantial element, and they appeared accurate and full, with vivid low-end response. Music was peppy and rich, and speech came across as natural and accurate. Heck, I even heard some lines I missed during my two theatrical screenings! The movie’s soundtrack added a lot to the movie and totally satisfied.
This package includes both 2D and 3D versions of Jurassic World. The picture quality comments above address the 2D edition, but I also want to talk about the 3D image.
In terms of picture quality, the 3D World held up well. Like most 3D Blu-rays, it occasionally seemed a tad softer than the 2D edition, and it could be darker. Those weren’t substantial concerns, though, so the movie usually produced very nice visuals.
As for the 3D imagery, it came across as a bit erratic, especially during the movie’s first half. A character looked at a Viewmaster early in the film, and that seemed ironic, as the 3D movie presentation occasionally gave off the exaggerated feel typical of the Viewmaster.
I thought this mainly affected more static shots, though, and the 3D presentation picked up during action scenes. The sequence in which the I-Rex attacks the kids in the gyrosphere dazzled, especially in the way we saw the assault from the human POV. Flying creatures added real pep to the 3D imagery, too, and a bunch of other dino-oriented moments became impressive. World wasn’t the smoothest/strongest 3D Blu-ray I’ve seen, but it brought enough dimensionality to the table to be worth the effort.
Seven Deleted Scenes fill a total of six minutes, eight seconds. Most of these offer short character moments, except for the one that provides a long character moment. The latter comes from a goofy sequence in which Owen and Claire smear dino dung on themselves to cover their scene. Beyond its callback to the giant dino crap scene from the original movie, it’s too silly to succeed. The other moments have some merit but don’t add to the story.
A few featurettes follow. Chris and Colin Take on the World goes for eight minutes, 57 seconds and offers director Colin Trevorrow and actor Chris Pratt as they chat together about Pratt’s casting, favorite Jurassic moments, Trevorrow’s approach to the material, and other aspects of the shoot. Matters remain chummy, so don’t expect much depth, but the conversation remains enjoyable and tosses out a couple of good tidbits.
Note that although both the deleted scenes and “Chris and Colin” also appear on the 3D disc, they remain 2D there.
During the 29-minute, 52-second Welcome to Jurassic World, we hear from Trevorrow, Pratt, executive producer Steven Spielberg, co-writer Derek Connolly, producers Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, production designer Edward Verreaux, stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara, puppeteer John Robert Rosengrant, costume designer Daniel Orlandi, and actors BD Wong, Jake Johnson, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Lauren Lapkus. We learn how Trevorrow came to the project, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, stunts and action, and animatronics. “Welcome” can be a little more general than I’d like, but it touches on good topics and does so well enough to succeed.
Dinosaurs Roam Once Again lasts 16 minutes, 29 seconds and features Pratt, Trevorrow, Spielberg, Simpkins, Howard, D’Onofrio, Marshall, Crowley, ILM senior VFX supervisor Dennis Muren, ILM data wrangler Chris Moore, visual effects supervisor Tim Alexander, visual effects animation supervisor Glen McIntosh, director of photography John Schwartzman, dinosaur consultant Phil Tippett, digital creature model supervisor Geoff Campbell, and actor Katie McGrath. Here we learn about the visual effects used in the movie as well as creature design. “Roam” offers a nice overview of those areas.
In Jurassic World: All Access Pass, we get a 10-minute, 11-second piece with Pratt and Trevorrow. They discuss characters/performances, the gyrosphere, the motorcycle and military scenes, and the movie’s climax. “Pass” feels like it was intended to be part of a picture-in-picture pop-up feature. It offers some fun info but it seems oddly disjointed and scattered.
Next comes Innovation Center Tour with Chris Pratt. It fills two minutes, one second with Trevorrow, Pratt and Verreaux, as we get a closer look at the movie’s visitor center. It’s quick but enjoyable.
Finally, we find Jurassic’s Closest Shaves, a three-minute compilation of scenes from the various movies. It becomes a decent reel, even if it mostly exists as an ad for a shaving cream company.
The disc opens with ads for the Back to the Future trilogy, Minions, Ted 2, Tremors 5: Bloodlines, Self/Less, The Gift, Jarhead 3: The Siege, Lego Jurassic World, RL Stine’s Monsterville and the Universal Studios Jurassic Park ride. No trailer for Jurassic World appears here.
A third disc provides a DVD copy of World. It offers the deleted scenes as well as the Chris and Colin and Roam featurettes but lacks the other extras.
14 years after the last film in the series, Jurassic World proves there’s still life in those dinosaur bones. While not the best of the franchise, World overcomes some flaws and mostly brings us vibrant, lively action-adventure. The Blu-ray delivers excellent picture and audio as well as a decent set of supplements. Jurassic World entertains.
To rate this film visit the 2D review of JURASSIC WORLD