The Spinosaurus From Jurassic Park 3 Was A Real Jerk

The triumphant return of the Spinosaurus in the Jurassic World Rebirth trailer made us reminisce about its rather comical predecessor from Jurassic Park 3. 

By Erik Hofmeyer

Something in particular caught our eye in the new Jurassic World Rebirth trailer, which was a trio of Spinosauruses (or Spinosauri?). It was fun to see the Spinosaurus return after more than two decades in cinematic exile after its interesting lead role in Jurassic Park back in 2001. 

You’re probably thinking “There was a Jurassic Park 3?” And yes, there was a largely forgotten third movie in 2001 to cap the original trilogy prior to the Jurassic World reboot starring Chris Pratt.

The franchise was moving away from character- and narrative-driven stories and marketing deadlier dinosaurs and more action in the sequels. Roger Ebert nailed it by writing how it’s “not as awe-inspiring as the first film or as elaborate as the second, but in its own B-movie way, it’s a nice little thrill machine.” It accomplished its summer blockbuster objective by clearing $368 million in theaters even though it was one of the lowest rated of all the Jurassic movies. 

The third installment is basically a monster movie featuring a disgruntled Spinosaurus that chomped its way into the lead villainous role. It was a legit choice. The Spinosaurus had a unique set of capabilities. It was larger than the T-Rex and had arms long enough to be useful. Furthermore, it had a crocodilian-shaped head, a sweet looking sail on its back, and higher bone density for submerging into water as it enjoyed a semi-aquatic lifestyle and more avenues to attack prey.

JP3 stripped out much of what we loved in the original. For example, The OG T-Rex and velociraptors in the first Jurassic Park were legit movie stars and all-time film characters. They exhibited instinctual predator behavior that was relatively more grounded as they roamed around the island seeking sustenance. The dinosaurs were also key to the narrative as the movie was rich in symbolism. On the other hand, this particular Spinosaurus was a one-dimensional terminator that went above and beyond to be a campy horror movie villain.

Here’s a quick chronology of events:

• 3:03 We assume it was the Spino that attacked the boat in the opening scene.
• 22:01 Eats a security guard and takes out a plane on takeoff.
• 23:17 Was annoyed about being hit by the plane, follows the path of wreckage, and yoinks out the pilot with its pointy snout.
• 24:03 Roars so loudly the soundwaves push the plane out of the canopy.
• 24: 29 Unnecessarily rolls the wreckage on its side for about 10 rotations.
• 25:05 Crushes the middle of the plane to try and squish the dizzy characters.
• 26:54 Runs into a beloved T-Rex mascot and dethrones it.

• 55:34 Struck a Jason Voorhees-Esque pose after sneaking out of the dense forest without anyone noticing.
• 56:01 Narrowly missed chomping the characters as they slipped through a hole in a fence, which reminded us of near misses in the Scream movies.
• 58:15 Decided to just run through the fence like the troll from Ernest Scared Stupid. 

• 1:12:57 Stalked the river boat as it traversed the island (the trip literally went from day to night) and recreated a Jaws moment with its sail emerging from the water as it attacked the boat.

After consuming more than our fair share of creature features, there’s a checklist of sorts for excessive and distracting behavior, and this Spinosaurus seems to check all the boxes:

• Pursuit across unnatural distances
• Ignoring easier or more logical prey
• Accelerated learning abilities
• Malice over instinct
• Holding a grudge against specific individuals, unless it’s Land of the Lost and the T-Rex is upset with Danny McBride for saying it had a walnut-sized brain

This got us thinking how this antagonist could have been so much better. Creature features either need to go as accurate as possible under the circumstances because more grounded threats tend to create the best tension or at least have some sliver of depth and/or personality. If this doesn’t work with the story, then just go straight-up over-the-top. 

Audiences generally suspend belief as long as it’s clearly fantasy. For example, the Indominus Rex in Jurassic World was less distracting because it was a man-made hybrid dinosaur from a variety of species, which made us buy into the heightened threats. Other examples include the pure, juicy fiction of the megalodons on the loose in The Meg or the genetically modified sharks in the classic Deep Blue Sea. The JP3 writers probably should have given the Spinosaurus some kind of genetic cocktail or super soldier serum so audiences could buy-in and really enjoy the ride.

In summary

A gigantic Spinosaurus running around is pretty awesome and the CGI was impressive back in 2001. This apex predator and its jerky demeanor didn’t quite fit with the bigger Jurassic Park themes surrounding it at first, but we hope it finally earns its place in Jurassic lore.