Sometimes I can’t even believe the things I have to type for this column…like this for instance: In the future, death row convicts are forced to compete in a virtual reality game show called The Jurassic Games, where they have to fight dinosaurs to win their freedom…so, this is The Running Man with dinosaurs…this may actually be genius (I mean someone is eaten by a T-rex before even five minutes have passed, so that is a good sign). Alliances and rivalries are formed among the convicts, dinosaurs eat people, and even more story elements are lifted wholesale from the Schwarzenegger classic (including corruption behind the scenes of the games, the “hero” convict being wrongfully accused, merch of the show being advertised during the broadcast…and on and on).
Look, no one is ever going to say The Jurassic Games is original (and if they do they may need serious psychiatric help), but I’ll be damned if the film isn’t entertaining. It’s well acted and shot, but more importantly it’s loaded with dino-action (unfortunately realized with CG, but it isn’t bad for what it is), and that is exactly what we want in a flick like this, and it certainly is never boring!
On the negative side; you’ve seen this one before my faithful fiends, so don’t expect too many surprises…though to be fair there is a rather large twist in the third act that was well done.
Think of your’s cruelly what you will, but this one is going to get a high score from me; I had a huge dopey grin on my face throughout the entire run time, I was completely entertained, and if I were a wee monster kid again, this would be one of my favorite films!
For more on The Jurassic Games from Horror Fuel, head here!
