Usually, clips from an upcoming movie are released because they make that movie look good. So it’s pretty disappointing that the first clip released from Jurassic World, one of the most anticipated potential blockbusters of the summer, has decided to come out swinging with a scene that makes the movie look like a forgettable, cliché-ridden 1990s action movie.
The above clip features Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Spider-Man 3) as they ostensibly talk about dinosaurs but actually talk about their flailing romantic chemistry. You see, she thinks she’s practical and business-y, and he thinks she’s too practical and business-y! How will these kooky kids ever get together? Especially with dialogue as forced as this?
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Granted, it’s not like this clip makes Jurassic World look incompetent, since it’s reasonably well shot and there’s nothing wrong with the sound design, obviously. But be honest, does this clip really make Jurassic World look like a “good” movie? Like, something that was written and made in the second decade of the 21st Century, when storylines about a rugged hero who can’t stop fixing his motorcycle long enough to defrost an ice queen have become, at best, extremely passé? And at worst, outwardly sexist?
Even Joss Whedon, the director of this summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, felt the need to comment on this tone deaf clip via Twitter. Here’s what he had to say:
…and I’m too busy wishing this clip wasn’t 70’s era sexist. She’s a stiff, he’s a life-force – really? Still? https://t.co/qqts4jpSva
— Joss Whedon (@josswhedon) April 10, 2015
Yes, still. Apparently. Hopefully this clip is an aberration, and that Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World will play better as a whole. Maybe it’s trying to evoke old school clichés before it subverts them… or maybe it’s just going to be one of those summer movies that audiences will have to completely turn their brains off to enjoy.
We’ll find out when Jurassic World hits theaters on June 12, 2015.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
