Jurassic World looks like a lot of fun. The movie's official trailer was released on Tuesday — two days ahead of schedule — and it hit the sweet spot between nostalgia for its predecessors and anticipation for the movie's 2015 release. There are crazy vehicles, giant, amphibious dinosaurs, and Star Lord running around in an amazing leather vest.
But woven into this amazing new world are several homages to classic movies. Here are a few we spotted:
There's an homage to Aliens
(Jurassic World)
This shot with the jaws of a mechanical door opening up to reveal a tank-topped Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) screams Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) from Aliens. It's unclear what kind of terror Claire is facing, but it strikes that same, last-battle feeling you get from James Cameron's masterpiece.
(Aliens)
It looks a little like E.T. (and other Steven Spielberg movies)
(Jurassic World)
Steven Spielberg isn't directing Jurassic World. He's just the executive producer. But that doesn't mean there aren't small homages to his style of filmmaking. In the scene above, time stands still, and all we see is the face of a boy as he stares at the terror in front of him (a dinosaur probably). It's a classic Spielberg shot, often called the "Spielberg face," and was made iconic by E.T. (and a lot of other movies, including Jurassic Park):
(E.T.)
There's also a bit of Hunger Games
This monorail and body of water …
(Jurassic World)
… looks a little like the Capitol from The Hunger Games
(Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
And — of course — there's a lot of Jurassic Park in the movie too
Perhaps the biggest treat of Jurassic World is that it looks like it's ready to right some of the wrongs that the Jurassic Park sequels created. It seems intent on honoring iconic scenes from the first film, like the gates to the park opening:
(Jurassic World)
Or a safari riding amid a pack of running dinosaurs:
(Jurassic World)
This, of course, is a wink at the first film where Dr. Grant and the kids ran with the flock of Gallimimus:
(Jurassic Park)
Also interesting here is the way that the direct nods to Jurassic Park suggest the dangerous world of that film has been corporatized and commodified and made "safe." It's a great wink at the way that franchise filmmaking eventually robs what was once exciting of its emotional power — and a visual signifier that Jurassic World knows it has its work cut out for it.
It's pretty cool to see all these nods to some great movies and great moviemaking, and that's just from the movie trailer. But it's helpful to keep in mind this is just a trailer, and there's no guarantee that Jurassic World will deliver on all these cool bits. We'll see what happens when the movie rolls into theaters on June 12, 2015.
