Jurassic Park 3 (2001)
Everyone loves Jurassic Park, but what about this firmly tongue-in-cheek third installment? Director Joe Johnston took over where Steven Spielberg left off. Sam Neill returns as Dr. Alan Grant. He plays a scientist who was tricked by a wealthy couple played by William H. Macy and Tea Leoni. Their sightseeing tour gets taken over by ferocious, genetically bred dinosaurs. But after their plane crash-lands, we find out that the couple is actually seeking their teenage son who was lost on the island.
More than anything, Jurassic Park III feels like it knows it’s kind of dumb, but continues to play itself seriously. The movie has boiled down the franchise to its basic core: these are dinosaurs who are going to attack and eat humans. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor brought us this script that includes talking velociraptors that have their own language.